A big obstacle facing the world during the coronavirus pandemic is travel. This goes for individual situations, like people working from home instead of having to commute to an office. It also goes for entire team situations in sports, where the less travel, the better.
While the city of Toronto is a pretty quick flight to New York City, Philadelphia, Boston or Washington D.C., a luxury bus ride from, say, Newark, New Jersey is both cheaper and safer. So will the Raptors play in Toronto in 2020-21, or temporarily relocate? Here’s the New York Daily News:
The Raptors have spoken to the operators of the Prudential Center about using their 19,500-seat arena, according to a source. It’s one of a few options for Masai Ujiri’s squad, and a preference for the NBA because of its close proximity to all of Toronto’s division foes.
The Raptors have also discussed playing in Tampa Bay or Nashville or as tenants in another NBA team’s arena, according to a source. Kansas City pitched its T-Mobile Center. Louisville was floated and reportedly shot down. There’s been speculation about the team moving over the border to Buffalo, just like the Toronto Blue Jays during the last MLB season. While some of those destinations offer a warmer climate, none can match the geographical sense of The Rock.
The Raptors playing in Newark sounds like a great idea. Perhaps some other teams might consider a relocation as well. But the Raptors are the most obvious candidate.
