The 2,300 tickets for the Toronto Raptors intra-squad basketball game Sept. 28 at the University of Victoria’s CARSA gym went rock-star fast and sold out in less than 20 minutes Thursday.
“We have had sellouts before at CARSA gym [for UVic Vikes basketball games] but nothing with this immediacy,” said UVic athletic director Clint Hamilton.
“This was a first for us. You get a sense of the demand, and of what a premier property the Raptors have become in Canada, and how excited the community is by how quickly the tickets went today.”
The size of the CARSA venue had several people on social media wondering why the intra-squad game isn’t being held in Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. The facility has a capacity of 7,006 for hockey and would be able to fit in hundreds more for basketball because of floor seating.
“There is not another public event [by the Raptors], so if you didn’t get tickets for the intra-squad game, you’re out of luck,” said fan Ken Dill.
“There has been quite the discussion on Twitter.”
The Raptors’ 2017 training camp is from Sept. 26 to 29 at CARSA gym.
All practice sessions will be closed to the public. The only chance to see the likes of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry dribble and shoot will be in the intra-squad game.
People on social media have suggested scheduling another intra-squad game, moving to a larger venue such as the Memorial Centre, or having a “public meet and greet so at least the kids could meet their heroes.”
The first two aren’t likely to happen. The team is here for a short time with much preparatory work to get through before the NBA preseason. And the logistics of finding and paying for installation of a basketball floor at Memorial Centre at this late date would be challenging. There are, however, expected to be youth basketball clinics hosted by the Raptors.
“I do feel for people who didn’t get tickets and understand their disappointment,” Hamilton said.
Tickets are by donation with a suggested $100 for floor seats, $50 for between-the-baskets blue bleachers, $30 for end-zone seats and $20 for students. Standing-room tickets will go on sale at 5:30 p.m. on game night. Ticket proceeds go to the Golf for Kids Charity Classic, whose tournament at Bear Mountain last weekend raised more than $1 million for Island youth charities.
Led by star players Lowry and DeRozan, the Raptors have captured a following across the nation as Eastern Conference contenders the past few seasons.
This is the ninth time the Raptors have held their training camp outside Toronto and the fourth consecutive year, and fifth overall, in B.C.
“We are extremely proud being Canada’s only NBA franchise. We don’t ever want to take that [enthusiasm] for granted,” said Raptors coach Dwane Casey in a statement, when the Raptors announced the University of Victoria as their 2017 training camp venue last month.
The Raptors head even farther west following their Victoria camp for a pair of exhibition games in Hawaii Oct. 1 and 3 against the Los Angeles Clippers.
