If there’s one Pan Am Games attraction that’s been difficult for sightseers on Toronto’s streets to locate, it’s the exceedingly elusive athletes themselves.

For the most part, the roughly 6,000 competitors have been a rare sight around town.

Perhaps that’s a testament to the demands of the Games — or to the comforts of the athletes village, a $700 million-plus network of 2,200 suites that has helped to turn Pan Am athletes into homebodies.

“It’s kind of like your own little bubble of a world,” said Quebec-raised, Calgary-based wrestler Genevieve Morrison, who won gold in the freestyle 48-kilogram division. “There’s all different athletes from different countries. There’s amazing food selection, awesome facilities. Everything’s shiny and new.

“It’s just cool, you know — you feel important in there.”

The gleaming complex in the West Don Lands is full of stress-relieving distractions. A lounge stocked with foosball, ping pong and PlayStation is a big hit with the Canadians.

“Normally at night, the games room is pretty packed,” said Canadian tennis player Peter Polansky. “There’s always athletes bonding with each other there.”

His game of choice?

“We’ve been playing Call of Duty,” he said with a smile.

The space is popular enough that carving out playing time can be, well, competitive.

“I’ve been wanting to get on the basketball machine but it’s always crowded,” lamented Morrison, laughing. “If we’re ever to host another Games, we need to order more basketball machines, because being able to play that unlimited basketball arcade game is awesome.”

Athletes are also raving about the food — including egg whites, enthused Vancouver javelin thrower Liz Gleadle: “You know athletes always pick out the yolks” — even if some are restricted.

“I was pretty limited to a handful of pretty boring things,” said Morrison, who has to be careful to make weight for her event. “I think the next couple days I’ll be able to be a bit more open . . . and go for the pizza and chicken wings and fries.”

The Pan Am Games arrive mid-season in many sports, with world championships still to come and the Olympics a year away.

“The focus is the competition when you come to these Games,” said Halifax gymnast Ellie Black, who won five medals here. “That’s the most important for us. And then after you can hopefully get some time to chill out and go look around and see some things.”

Canadian softball player Kaleigh Rafter visited the CN Tower with teammates, but passed on the long line for an elevator ride to the top, while Charlottetown golfer Lorie Kane visited the CBC building and Austin Connelly — a dual citizen who grew up in Dallas but competes in golf for Canada — took in a Pan Am beach volleyball match.

But most seem to prefer to hunker down in their temporary home during down time.

“We watch a lot of Netflix, and we eat and do a little pin trading here and there,” said gymnastics silver medallist Kevin Lytwyn of Stoney Creek, Ont. “That’s pretty much it.”

Partying appears to be limited.

“People, for sure, cut loose,” said Gleadle, referring to athletes finished competing, “but I think everybody’s pretty respectful. They had to compete, and now someone else has to compete. It’s pretty rare you get to this level and people are disrespectful of each other’s performance needs.”

Athletes from other nations like the location.

“We were really fortunate to have the Distillery District right next to the village, which had cute coffee shops, great music, really great architecture,” said American women’s water polo captain Maggie Steffens. “It’s nice to get out of the village and enjoy the city you’re in. Some of us, I think, would be excited to go to Niagara Falls. But the city is amazing, so anywhere we can go.”

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Any other destinations in mind?

“I think the destination we had was a gold medal,” said Steffens, who helped the U.S. beat Canada in the final.