Halifax to host Toronto Raptors Training Camp in October

It is now official! The Toronto Raptors will be holding their Training Camp for the upcoming 2012-2013 season in Halifax, Nova Scotia from October 1st – 6th, 2012.

Here is a link to some video coverage from this morning’s press conference via CTV Atlantic. Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo said, “We’ve always said we’re not Toronto’s team, we’re Canada’s Team”.

We here at Hoop Heads North are excited for the Halifax basketball community. We feel it’s great to see the Raptors organization’s commitment to helping to build and grow the game across our great nation of Canada!

Here are the details from the Toronto Raptors’ press release:

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday that Head Coach Dwane Casey and his team will conduct training camp in Halifax, Nova Scotia from October 1-6, featuring an intra-squad game Saturday, October 6 at noon at the Halifax Metro Centre.

A voluntary donation of $10 per ticket is suggested for admission to the intra-squad game, benefitting Feed Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame Education Program, Kidsport Nova Scotia and YWCA Supportive Housing for Young Mothers. Tickets will be available at participating AML Communications locations beginning Friday, July 27. For additional ticketing information, please visit www.ticketatlantic.com.

The Raptors will conduct their practices at the Canada Games Centre. All practice sessions will be closed to the public. A specific practice schedule with days, times and media availability will be released later.

This will be the fifth time the team has held a portion of camp outside the province of Ontario. The Raptors trained in Vancouver in 2010, Treviso and Rome, Italy and Madrid, Spain as part of NBA Europe Live in 2007, and Buffalo, New York in 2000 and 2001.

The Raptors return to Halifax where they played a preseason game in each of the team’s first three seasons (1995-97). The very first game in team history took place in Halifax on October 14, 1995, with the Raptors posting a 120-107 preseason victory over Philadelphia.

The city of Halifax has a long and successful history with the sport of basketball. The city played host to the collegiate CIS championship for 24 consecutive years from 1984 to 2007. The event returned to Halifax in March 2011 and 2012.

The Halifax Rainmen, a professional basketball club, has been in existence since 2007-08. Last season it was one of seven teams competing in NBL Canada’s inaugural season.