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Well, you don’t see that every night. On Saturday, the Raptors’ game against the Indiana Pacers at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto was delayed by a significant amount of time after a loudspeaker caught fire. All fans present were then asked to leave the arena. The evacuation was a precautionary measure because there was no immediate risk to fans in the arena, according to Raptors spokesman Herbie Kuhn.
The stoppage came in the second quarter of the contest, with the Raptors leading the Pacers 66-38, and lasted over an hour. Eventually, the action resumed on the pitch, but fans were not allowed back into the arena. The raptors released the following statement about the topic:
Scotiabank Arena has received the all-clear. The game against the Pacers continues with no fans in the building. Tickets will be refunded within 30 days. We apologize to all of our fans who made it to tonight’s game and we thank our fans for their continued support.
The situation was unique, and it was probably quite irritating for the fans who went to the game and had to leave early. At least they get a refund. And in the end, the most important thing is that nobody got hurt. You can’t blame the Raptors or the Arena for playing it safe. The Raptors went on to win the game 131-91.