Much like their fans, the Toronto Raptors were hopeful that they were going to be playing at home this year right until the moment they realized that they wouldn’t be.
On Nov. 20, the team was Tampa Bay-bound, just 10 days before the scheduled start of training camp.
The key items of a contingency plan were lined up -- the Raptors would play out of Amalie Arena and would stay at a nearby Marriott until players, coaches and staff could find some temporary housing -- but one key day-to-day item needed to be taken care of. The team needed a practice facility.