TAMPA, Fla – The Toronto Raptors will play their home games behind closed doors at their new home, Amalie Arena in Tampa.
Vinik Sports Group, which owns the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Amalie Arena, announced on Saturday that the organization will not allow spectators to be in the amphitheater “due to a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the central portion of Florida in the last few days ”.
No fan will be able to cheer the team on site before February 5 at the earliest.
Florida is a major hotbed of outbreaks, and it reported nearly 20,000 new cases as of Friday as a new wave of COVID-19 sweeps over the US state.
Since the start of the pandemic, Florida has recorded more than 1.4 million cases of coronavirus.
The Raptors were one of the few clubs in the NBA that planned to host a number of fans in the stands for their home games. They planned to distribute around 3,800 tickets for each meeting at the Amalie Arena.
Due to travel restrictions and the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Canada, the Raptors have been forced into exile in Tampa for at least half of the season.
The Raptors had handed out tickets for their first 11 home games, and three games have already been played at Amalie Arena. Tickets sold for the remaining eight matches will be refunded.
Amalie Arena is not a very welcoming home for the Raptors, as most of the fans in the stands have cheered on the visiting team so far.
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