Could Buffalo & Toronto share Olympics?

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The eyes of the world are on London right now. But could Toronto land the Olympic games one day with the help of Buffalo?

The idea may sound farfetched, but not to one Toronto City Councilman. James Pasternak proposes that "...a great Lakes Olympics...not only makes sense xerographically, but financially as well."

Mayor Byron Brown said, "Loved hearing it. Loved the talk, the buzz that's going around it so quickly, so early."

Just the thought of it is enough to spark the imagination at least.

Buffalo resident Nathan Villar said, "America and Canada coming together would be amazing, something like that to happen, yeah."

Logistics may be a major problem though, trying to coordinate the Olympic games in cities of two different countries, so many miles apart.

Marlene Merzacco opined, "I love Buffalo. I'm here all my life, but I can't envision the logistics of the event 90 miles apart."

But Buffalo sharing in the Olympic dream with Toronto is at the very least flattering to Visit Buffalo Niagara.

Communications Manager Peter Burakowski said, "We've longed look for Toronto to be partners for us. It's great to have them looking the same way towards us."

In the early 1990s, Buffalo played host to the World University Games. And while some vendors took a loss, the games had some long-term benefits to our region.

Deputy Erie County Executive Rich Tobe said, "The World University Games, we hoped, would create Buffalo as a tourism destination for amateur athletics, and it has."

Burakowski added, "We used many of the facilities that came out of the World University Games, so the Flickinger Center is a hotbed for swimming. You see track and field events at U.B. Many of the facilities that came to be because of the World University Games still are paying off today."

Tobe says co-hosting a summer Olympics would be a daunting task, but says we should be open to least discussing the idea with Toronto, if invited to do so.