They are the only two times when it’s OK to cheer for Toronto.
The Toronto Raptors, much like the Blue Jays, hold an outsized place in the Canadian sports consciousness. They are easy to rally behind nationally because they are the lone Canadian outposts in the NBA and MLB, respectively.
That’s why the Raptors have made their annual preseason training a moveable feast, coming Sept. 26-29 to the CARSA athletic facility on the campus of the University of Victoria.
The Raptors’ camp will include an open intra-squad game at CARSA on Sept. 28. Ticket details will be announced later. All other practice sessions will be closed to the public.
“We have to respect the Raptors are preparing for a season and have a lot of business to get done in a short period of time,” said Clint Hamilton, UVic athletic director.
Hamilton added the Raptors will hold community clinics for local coaches and youth players with details to be announced.
Hamilton said the announcement of the Raptors camp is a triumph for CARSA.
“You don’t attract a marquee franchise like the Raptors if your facility is not first class,” said Hamilton.
“This is Canada’s NBA team and this is important to them. It is affirmation [CARSA] is of the quality we had hoped,” he added, of the $77-million facility, which opened in 2015.
Following the training camp, the Raptors will head to Hawaii for a pair of exhibition games — Oct. 1 and 3 — against the Los Angeles Clippers.
It is the ninth time the Raptors have held their training camp outside Toronto and the fourth consecutive year, and fifth overall, in B.C. They trained on the Lower Mainland in 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016. It was during the latter two years that Raptors officials, including current GM Bobby Webster, were able to come across the strait to tour CARSA.
“It allowed us to meet Raptors personnel. They were impressed with CARSA and we stayed in contact,” said Hamilton.
The Raptors honoured Halifax’s notable basketball tradition by going there for training camp in 2011 and 2012. They were in Europe in 2007 and gave a cross-border regional shout out by training in Buffalo, New York, in 2000 and 2001.
“It’s an honour to visit a different part of Canada and prepare for our season in the first-class facilities at the University of Victoria,” said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey, in a statement.
“We are extremely proud being Canada’s only NBA franchise. Our players and staff feel enthusiasm for basketball in every city we have visited. We don’t ever want to take that for granted.”
Led by star players Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors have captured a following across the country as Eastern Conference contenders the past few seasons.
It will be a hectic week at CARSA. The Vikes Breakfast of Champions, UVic’s biggest annual athletic fundraiser, takes place Sept. 26. The Raptors hold their first practice that night in the gym. The Raptors final practice will be on the afternoon of Sept. 29. That evening, the UVic Vikes open their preseason by hosting the opening night of the annual Guy Vetrie Invitational tournament.
“We have such great staff and volunteers that are capable of transforming the facility over very tight time lines,” said Hamilton.
The last NBA training camp to be hosted on the Island was in 1998 when the since-departed Vancouver Grizzlies held their preseason camp at the Naden base gymnasium complex in Esquimalt.
