Area university to host NBA team’s training camp

ST. LEO — Saint Leo University, in Pasco County, has been chosen to host the Toronto Raptors’ pre-season training camp as the NBA team prepares for its 2020-21 campaign. 

Last month, the Raptors announced that they would temporarily relocate to Tampa because pandemic-driven Canada-U.S. border restrictions made it impossible for them to play their home games in Toronto. They will play their regular-season home games at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa. 

At Saint Leo, according to a press release, the team will train at the Marion Bowman Activities Center, which is normally the home of the Saint Leo Lions NCAA Division II basketball teams, but collegiate play for the teams have been temporarily suspended because of the COVID-19 crisis. 

“We are excited to host the Toronto Raptors as they prepare for the start of their 2020-21 season,” Saint Leo University Athletic Director Francis Reidy states in the release. “We are thrilled the Bowman Center can be ‘We the South’ for a few weeks while the Raptors prepare to play in Tampa this season. We have an outstanding basketball facility that will allow the team to accomplish their preseason goals in a safe, secure environment.”

The Raptors have been one of the top teams in the NBA over the past few years and won their first-ever championship in the 2018-19 season, defeating the Golden State Warriors. Last season, they made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals but lost to the Boston Celtics.

The Raptors’ 2020-21 training camp opened Dec. 2, the release states, and will conclude Dec. 11.