Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, Puerto Vallarta, Lagos de Moreno and Tapalpa.

Following PASO tradition, Jalisco governor Emilio González Márquez and then Guadalajara mayor Alfonso Petersen Farah received the Pan American Sports Organization flag during the closing ceremony of the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

[4] PASO selected the city unanimously as the host for 16th Pan American Games on Friday, June 2, 2006, at its 44th general assembly held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

[5] Guadalajara initially bid for the 2003 Pan American Games which were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

[7] Horacio de la Vega, marketing director for Guadalajara 2011, cited the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona as the inspiration for infrastructure improvements.

[8] However, as the Games drew closer to starting, it was revealed that the costs of building the venues and the athletes' village had more than tripled to US$750 million.

Additional plans called for transit improvements, a performing arts theater (Auditorio Telmex) and a new public library.

[11] By April, Guadalajara 2011 had made over US$50 million revenue from television rights and sponsors, which was more than the previous games in Rio de Janeiro.

[1] In June 2011, four months before the games, Carlos Andrade stated that no construction concerns remained for Guadalajara.

[1] Famous athletes from Mexico, including diver Fernando Platas and golfer Lorena Ochoa, were also named ambassadors to promote the games.

[16] The co-creators of the mascots were José Luis Andrade (Leo), Ángel Barba Barrera (Huichi), and Fernando Sanchez (Gavo).

[7] Puerto Vallarta was the main subsite when hosted the sailing, marathon swimming, triathlon, and beach volleyball.

[18] Other cities that co-hosted the event are Tapalpa (mountain biking), Ciudad Guzmán (rowing and canoeing) and Lagos de Moreno (baseball).

[19] The relay took the torch through all 32 Mexican states on a 50-day route starting on August 26 at the pyramids of Teotihuacan outside Mexico City.

[citation needed] As per tradition, the Pan American Sports Organization flag was handed over to the mayor of the next host city, Rob Ford of Toronto.

[74] Scott Backmun of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) raised concerns about the city's ability to host the games in light of the drug war.

During a meeting of the USOC in March 2011, chief security officer Larry Buendorf gave a report to the rest of the committee in which he said, "We’re going to prepare for Guadalajara like we would any other Games.

[75] After grenades were thrown near a nightclub entrance in two separate incidents in February 2011, organizers said they were making security a priority and arranged for police and members of the armed forces to patrol in Guadalajara throughout the games.

Carlos Andrade Garin, the director of the organizing committee, said even a short delay in construction would mean the games would have to be canceled.

"[78] After many delays, organizers finally asserted that the athletes' village would be finished no later than September, only a month before the games were to begin.

[71] Several days before the opening ceremony, the organizing committee announced that they were optimistic that the venues would be ready by the start of the games.

[83] The German National Anti-Doping Agency warned athletes that some meat in Mexico had tested positive for the stimulant clenbuterol.

However, Games officials said that food served at the athletes' village would be tested to ensure it contained no drugs or contaminants.