Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment is making adjustments to accommodate Toronto sports fans who want to support the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series while also cheering for the city’s NHL and NBA teams.
The Maple Leafs and Raptors are rescheduling their games this weekend and next week so that fans can watch the Blue Jays take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Major League Baseball championship series.
Keith Pelley, the president and CEO of MLSE, expressed pride in bringing together the city’s teams to allow fans to witness a significant moment in Toronto and Canada’s history.
The Blue Jays are set to play Game 1 and Game 2 of the World Series at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
To accommodate the baseball games, the Raptors have 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 have adjusted their game against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday to start at 5 p.m. ET instead of 7 p.m.
In addition, the Leafs have shifted the start time of their game against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday to 6 p.m. ET, and the Raptors will face the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
MLSE has acknowledged the complexity of these schedule changes, recognizing the cooperation of various stakeholders, including the leagues, coaches, players, and broadcasters of the teams involved.
Furthermore, the Maple Leafs and Raptors plan to broadcast the World Series games on the Scotiabank Arena videoboard following their own games to ensure fans do not miss out on the baseball action.
For CFL fans, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ regular-season finale against the Ottawa Redblacks will kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday, with in-stadium updates and live coverage of the World Series opener available on TVs around Hamilton Stadium. The full broadcast of the baseball game will be shown on the main videoboard after the football match concludes.
