-->

Kansas City falls short for Toronto Raptors’ season start

By Madison Parry

A campaign from Kansas City, Mo. leaders to bring the Toronto Raptors to the metro for its season start has come up short. City officials hoped to house the team for the beginning of the 2020-21 NBA season, the Raptors opting instead for Tampa, Fla.

High hopes from Kansas City, Mo. officials looking to land a deal to temporarily house the Toronto Raptors have flopped.

In search of a U.S. base for the beginning of the 2020-21 basketball season, the NBA team considered a number of cities including Kansas City, Mo. In a Friday news release, the team announced it has chosen Tampa, Fla.

“We want to thank all levels of government and their public health officials for their dedication to this process,” Masai Ujiri, president of the Toronto Raptors said in the release.

Kansas City’s campaign to bring the Raptors to T-Mobile Center for the season start gained momentum in October. Formerly known as the Sprint Center, the multi-purpose arena located downtown opened in 2007 and was built to be able to accommodate a professional sports team and other events that attract large crowds.

Prior to the Raptor’s decision, Kansas City leaders and state officials from both Kansas and Missouri joined together to send a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to lobby for the city.

“Kansas City is well-suited to host the Toronto Raptors for the 2020-2021 NBA season and our dynamic fans would be thrilled to adopt the team as our own,” the letter to Silver said. “Our T-Mobile Center, a first-class arena located in the heart of downtown, would make a great home for the Raptors as they look to match last season’s impressive winning record.”

Until 1985, Kansas City had hosted the Kings, another NBA team. Although Kansas City would have only served the Raptor’s temporarily, the city pointed at reasons it can nurture a professional team.

Among its supporting arguments for Kansas City, the letter also noted the region’s growing population, ease of access to the T-Mobile Center and its other sources of entertainment which include an NFL and MLB team.