Updated: Wed Nov. 04 2009 12:46:07 PM

ctvtoronto.ca

Toronto's bid team for the 2015 Pan Am Games, including Mayor David Miller, is heading to Guadalajara, Mexico for a final round of lobbying before Friday's vote.

Lima, Peru and Bogota, Columbia are the other finalists.

Olympic medalist Curt Harnett said much work remains to be done to sell delegates on the merits of Toronto's bid.

"We're not like (sprinting superstar Usain Bolt) going in where we can ease up before the finish line and start celebrating our victory," he told CTV Toronto at Pearson International Airport on Wednesday morning. "We gotta push it through to the finish line and bring home the big prize."

Toronto has previously lost two bids to host the games, but Miller said the third time should be the charm.

One selling point for Canada's largest city is its status as one of the world's most multicultural city, he said.

"It's our time," Miller said. "Our bid's very inclusive. We're including places outside Toronto. We're building great facilities inside Toronto."

On Friday, the city will make an hour-long presentation to the Pan American Sport Federation, followed by 30 minutes of questions and answers. Toronto will be the final presenter.

The national Olympic committees of the 42 member nations will chose the winner of the November 2015 event.

The Canadian Tenors will be part of the video presentation, and the committee said it also has some surprises up its sleeves.

Premier Dalton McGuinty will be joining the team for the presentation, but Prime Minister Harper will not be making the trip. The leaders of Peru and Colombia will be there in support of their country's bids. Then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien went to Moscow in 2001 for Toronto's 2008 Summer Olympics bid.

Sport Minister Gary Lunn will represent the federal government.

A successful bid will cost about $2.4 billion, which includes $1 billion for new sports infrastructure and an athlete's village that will be turned into a mixed-income neighbourhood after the Games. It's estimated the bid would create 15,000 jobs and attract 250,000 tourists to the city.

Athlete Trevino Betty, a Pan Am medallist, added this wistful thought: "I spent over 10 years on the national team and I never had the opportunity to compete in Toronto."

As he strode towards security, Miller said: "Let's go Toronto! This time, we're going to win."

With a report from CTV Toronto's Janice Golding