TORONTO — With just over a month left to enter the race to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, Toronto's mayor says he is "nowhere near" deciding whether the city will throw its hat in the ring.
John Tory's meeting with the head of the Canadian Olympic Committee earlier this week stirred talk that he was preparing to officially announce a pitch, though his office stressed the event was simply to gather information about the bidding process.
The mayor has said he wouldn't rule on the possibility of a third bid until after the Parapan Am Games, which wrap up Saturday.
He said Thursday that a decision is likely weeks away.
Tory says he needs to know how the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games affected the city, and that information won't be available until early next month.
Cities looking to host the 2024 Games have until Sept. 15 to register their interest with the International Olympic Committee.
Tory said he is "very mindful" of the deadline but does not want to rush into a decision.
"I am going to undertake, with the help of a lot of other people, a careful assessment of this issue in the time that's available to us...as to what the facts are, about how Pan Am went and what the bidding rules are, what the costs might be and all the things you'd expect me to take into account before even considering signing or not signing a letter," he said.
"I don't expect it'll happen for some time because it's going to take time to collect all that information about how Pan Am went. They expect to have some facts and figures to give out in early September so obviously when they do that, that will help me."
City council will also have to approve the decision, he said. However, no council meeting is scheduled before the deadline.
Toronto unsuccessfully bid for the 1996 and 2008 Olympics.
