Ontario’s first victory in these 2015 Pan American Games is already well in hand and it’s time for a resounding cheer.

Before inaugural gold has been draped around a victorious athlete’s neck — even before opening ceremonies are celebrated Friday night — it is safe to deem these games a remarkable success.

The $2.5 billion investment has delivered a wealth of sorely needed sports infrastructure in Toronto and surrounding cities that will benefit future Canadian Olympians and other athletes. No fewer than 10 bright new venues were built for these games, while another 15 existing sports centres received substantial upgrades.

An athlete’s village, constructed on derelict industrial land near the mouth of the Don River, is set to become a clean, green mixed-use neighbourhood. And transit developments include a new GO train station in Hamilton and a rail link between Union Station and Pearson International Airport.

It’s a good bet none of this community-building would have occurred, at least not just yet, if it weren’t for the spur provided by the Pan Am Games. The result is an extraordinary legacy that will serve Toronto residents, and those in surrounding regions, for decades to come.

But first, there’s a matter of hosting more than 6,000 athletes from 41 nations in the largest multi-sport competition ever held in Canada. Over the next two weeks some of the world’s top athletes will be vying for gold in more than 45 sports, from golf and bowling to rugby and racquet ball. In addition to all that, special “Panamania” presentations are bringing sport together with art, fashion, dance, music, comedy and fun for the duration of the games.

Festivities begin Friday with Governor General David Johnston officially opening the games. A parade of nations from across the Americas and the Caribbean will include the strongest Canadian team ever, led by flag-bearer Mark Oldershaw, an Olympic medalist in canoeing.

Highlighting the evening is a one-night-only original production by Cirque du Soleil, with the group’s famed acrobatics and stagecraft enhanced by having well over 100 children perform in a landmark multicultural show. It promises to be a spectacular event, in keeping with the significance of these games.

Southern Ontario residents have a rare — perhaps once in a lifetime — opportunity to witness top-flight, multi-sport international competition happening virtually in their own backyard. This is a chance that shouldn’t be missed.

Benefits of the games, and the Parapan Am Games starting Aug. 7, don’t end there. Seeds of future glory have been planted by these events — first by inspiring a new generation of local athletes through a displays of outstanding human performance and, second, by giving them places to hone their skills.

It’s difficult to over-estimate the significance of that. Before these games the Toronto area suffered a debilitating shortage of high-level competition venues necessary for serious athletic development. For example, this city of more than 2.5 million people had only two Olympic-length swimming pools and one of those, at the University of Toronto, wasn’t open to everyone.

A direct result of the Pan Am games was construction of a massive aquatics centre and field house in Scarborough, featuring two internationally sanctioned 10-lane, 50-metre pools, a diving centre, an indoor track, basketball courts, gyms, and a climbing wall. One remarkable pool feature is a movable floor, allowing for creation of different depths as needed. Once these games are done 1,000 to 1,500 children a day are expected to use this venue.

And that’s just a fraction of what’s been built.

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There’s also another Olympic-sized pool and 3,300-square-metre “triple gymnasium” in Markham; a football stadium in Hamilton, being used for soccer; a new track and field stadium at York University; and a velodrome in Milton.

The Toronto Pan Am Games won’t just deliver gold medal performances over the next two weeks — they’ve laid a foundation for Canadian athletic excellence for generations to come. That’s reason to cheer this opening day.