Olympic Spirit Toronto

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Olympic Spirit Toronto, the world's only permanent entertainment complex themed around the Olympic Games, opened on August 21, 2004. More Olympic Spirit complexes are in the making around the world. Although Olympic Spirit Toronto closed its doors on Dundas Square to the public on July 19, 2006, the facility will continue to host a number of corporate events through the end of the summer.

The Olympic Spirit Group, based in Geneva, has subsequently announced that plans are underway for a new Olympic Spirit Center at a new family-oriented location in Toronto.

In a letter to the editor of the Toronto Star, Patricia MacDonnell wrote: "Toronto's Olympic Spirit was an amazing facility that offered visitors, especially children, a taste of what the Olympics are all about. Each visit started with a stirring 12-minute movie that left parents teary-eyed and kids wanting to see more. Then, after racing to the top floor of this gorgeous, airy building filled with images of athletes and Olympic artifacts of all kinds, kids got to enjoy a wide range of interactive winter and summer sports activities that gave them a chance to try Olympic sports and engage in friendly competitions among themselves. I recently visited Olympic Spirit Toronto with my 9-year-old daughter and her friend. Like many young athletes, these two girls have Olympic athletes as their idols and loved watching the Olympics on television this past winter. Our excursion to the Olympic Spirit Toronto was a thrill for them. And, maybe, left them with a sense of wanting to experience the real thing someday themselves."

Mark Dzenick, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Olympic Spirit Group, master licensor of the Olympic Spirit concept together with the International Olympic Committee and the Canadian Olympic Committee, expressed his confidence in the city and his optimism for the future. “I appreciate the effort that the local licensee and operator, PenEquity Management Corp. and Toros Entertainment Inc., put into the project. They believed in Toronto and in bringing the Olympic Spirit to its citizens. I have a great deal of faith and trust in the city, and I believe we will show that the Olympic Spirit belongs in Toronto, even if it now will be at a new location.”^{[citation needed]}