TAMPA, Fla — It's official-- the Toronto Raptors have a scheduled Tampa tipoff time.
The team will be temporarily based in Tampa Bay as coronavirus restrictions are preventing them from playing at home in Canada. Toronto will open the season at Amalie Arena on Dec. 23 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Canada's only NBA team began practice this week at Saint Leo University to prepare ahead of the season. Training camp is expected to last through Dec. 11 as preseason for the Raptors kicks off on Dec. 12 in Charlotte against the Hornets.
Canada's coronavirus restrictions require people without symptoms to quarantine for 14 days when entering the country. With the rest of the league based in the United States, that caused the Raptors to come to the Sunshine State
"The Raptors worked diligently with public health officials at the local, provincial and federal level to secure a plan that would permit us to play our 2020-21 season on home soil and on our home court at Scotiabank Arena," Raptors President Masai Ujiri wrote in the statement obtained by Toronto Raptors NBA Beat Reporter Josh Lewenberg at the time.
"These conversations were productive, and we found strong support for the protocols we put forward. Ultimately, the current public health situation facing Canadians, combined with the urgent need to determine where we will play means that we will begin our 2020-21 season in Tampa, Florida."
The Raptors start preseason with two away games and one home game on Dec. 18 against the Miami Heat before the regular season gets underway.