Corp Comm Connects

Toronto fans brave rain, traffic chaos to cheer on Raptors downtown for Game 3

CP24.com
June 6, 2019
Joshua Freeman

Bad weather and transportation chaos couldn’t keep dedicated Toronto Raptors fans from heading downtown to cheer on their team Wednesday night.

Rain-soaked fans waited for hours to get into Jurassic Park ahead of Game 3 between the Raptors and the Golden State Warriors.

One family who travelled from Windsor to take in the game at Jurassic Park said they travelled four hours to get to Toronto and waited in line for nearly three hours to get into the venue.

“This will be our first experience,” Sal Jordan said. “We’ve seen it on TV. We got to take a look at the area that it’s in. It’s a little smaller than we thought, but we’re excited.”

Fans decked out in Raptors gear and raincoats stood in line for hours ahead of the game, which took place in Oakland, but was shown on large screens in Jurassic Park and other venues around the GTA.

Despite the fact that it’s the first week in June, temperatures hovered around the mid-teens Wednesday, with rain on and off throughout the day. The temperature was expected to dip to 11 C Wednesday night.

In addition to the bad weather, subway service downtown was paralyzed for hours Wednesday after a train became stuck between St. Andrew and Union stations around 1 p.m. Service was shut down between Bloor-Yonge and Osgoode stations until around 6 p.m. as a result.

Despite the weather, transit problems and heavier-than-usual traffic in the core, Jurassic Park was still packed to capacity as Toronto fans cheered on their team.

Fans weren’t disappointed either. The Raptors headed into Game 3 looking for a second win after the Warriors evened out the series in Game 2. They got it, with a 123-109 victory, giving the team a 2-1 lead in the series.

Other areas around the GTA where fans can take in the game include: