Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment is making adjustments to accommodate Toronto sports fans who want to support the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series. The schedules of the NHL’s Maple Leafs and NBA’s Raptors are being altered to allow fans to watch the Blue Jays face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the MLB championship series.
MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley expressed pride in Toronto’s passionate sports fans and highlighted the unity of the city’s teams in providing fans with the chance to witness a significant moment in local and national history. The Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto will host the first two games of the best-of-seven series on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
To avoid scheduling conflicts, the Raptors moved up the start time of their home opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday to 6:30 p.m. ET from the original 7:30 p.m. ET slot. Similarly, the Maple Leafs rescheduled their Saturday game against the Buffalo Sabres to 5 p.m. ET from the initial 7 p.m. ET time slot. Additionally, the start time of the Leafs’ Tuesday game against the Calgary Flames has been adjusted to 6 p.m., while the Raptors will host the Houston Rockets at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Pelley acknowledged the cooperation of various stakeholders, including the leagues, coaches, players, and broadcasters, in making these schedule changes possible. Both the Maple Leafs and Raptors will screen the World Series games on the Scotiabank Arena videoboard after their own games.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will commence their regular-season finale against the Ottawa Redblacks at 7 p.m. on Friday. CFL fans attending the game can follow the World Series opener through in-stadium updates and live coverage on TVs around Hamilton Stadium, with the full broadcast airing on the main videoboard post-game.
