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The Toronto Raptors announced in a team statement that they would play the 2020-21 season in Tampa Bay, after the Canadian federal government ruled on Friday that the Raptors will not be able to play games in the country, according to Doug. Smith of the Toronto Star. .
This has always been a concern due to the travel restrictions that exist due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Raptors hoped for weeks that they would be able to figure out something that wouldn’t require them to move all their operation south of the Canadian border. However, the government decided not to do so, forcing Toronto to play the upcoming season in Florida.
Masai Ujiri, president of basketball operations for the Raptors, issued the following statement:
“The Raptors have worked diligently with public health officials at the local, provincial and federal levels to secure a plan that will allow us to play our 2020-2021 season at home and on our field at Scotiabank Arena. These conversations have been productive and We have found strong support for the protocols we have proposed.In the end, the current public health situation facing Canadians, combined with the urgent need to determine where we will play, means that we will be starting our 2020-2021 season in Tampa, Florida.
“We would like to thank all levels of government and their public health officials for their dedication to this process and for their concern for the health of Canadians. We are committed to continuing our work together, to plan for a safe return to play in Toronto. As an organization, we remain committed to doing all we can to promote and demonstrate public health measures to address the spread of COVID-19 in Canada.
“So we’ll be away from home and our fans for now. They say absence makes the heart more loving. I’m not sure that’s possible for us – we love Toronto and Canada, and we know that we have the best fans in the NBA For now, I will ask you to cheer us on from afar, and we look forward to the day when we are all together again.
Cities considered options for the Raptors include Kansas City, Buffalo, and Nashville, but Tampa was the preferred choice of several players on the roster, according to TSN Sports’ Josh Lewenberg. It’s still unclear which arena the Raptors will play in in Tampa, but Amalie Arena, home to the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, is an option. Amalie Arena has hosted March Madness games in the past and was supposed to host games for the men’s college basketball tournament this year, until it was canceled due to COVID-19.
If the Raptors used this arena, however, it could interfere with the upcoming NHL season. The NHL has not released any information regarding the start of its next season, but if Toronto plans to use the Lighting home for part of the season, it could lead to scheduling conflicts.
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