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Stadium:
Air Canada Centre
The Air Canada Centre, often referred to simply as The ACC, is a multi-purpose arena located on Bay Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario. It is the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association, and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League. It was also home to the Toronto Phantoms of the Arena Football League during their brief existence. The ACC is owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., the same group that owns both the Leafs and Raptors, and is 665,000 square feet (62,000 m²) in size. An early nickname for the venue was "The Hangar" due to the corporate sponsor of the arena, Air Canada. However this name was never quite adopted by the general public. The Air Canada Centre is most commonly referred to as simply "The ACC" and has been referenced as such on the official Air Canada Centre website. It is located just south of Union Station. Andy Frost is the public address announcer at the ACC during Maple Leafs home games, while Herbie Kuhn does the job for the Toronto Raptors, and Bruce Barker is the announcer for Toronto Rock games.

Seating Chart:
Air Canada Centre Seating Chart

Team History:
The Toronto Raptors were established on 30 September 1993 when the NBA, as part of its expansion into Canada, awarded its 28th franchise to a group headed by Toronto businessman John Bitove. The Raptors, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, played their first games in 1995, and were the first NBA teams to play in Canada since the 1946–47 Toronto Huskies. A nationwide contest was held to help name the team and develop their colours and logo. The final top-10 list, from over 2,000 entries in the contest, was composed mainly of animal names. The final selection—Toronto Raptors—was unveiled on Canadian national television on 15 May 1994. The choice was influenced by the popularity of the film Jurassic Park. On 24 May 1994, the team's logo and first General Manager, Isiah Thomas were revealed at a press conference. The team's colours of bright red, purple, black, and silver were also revealed; "Naismith" silver was chosen as an ode to Canadian James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.[1] The team originally competed in the Central Division, and before the inaugural season began, sales of Raptors merchandise ranked seventh in the league, marking a successful return of basketball to Canada.

Season Preview:
Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell has been named the winner of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the NBA Coach of the Year for the 2006-07 season, the NBA announced today. In his third season as the Raptors’ head coach, Mitchell totaled 389 points, including 49 first-place votes, from a panel of 128 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan was second with 301 points (39 first-place votes) and the Dallas Mavericks’ Avery Johnson was third with 268 points (28 first-place votes). Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received. Mitchell, the first coach in Raptors history to receive the honour, led the Raptors to their first Atlantic Division title, a franchise-record-tying 47 wins, and home court advantage in the playoffs for the first time in team history. The sixth head coach in franchise history, Mitchell guided the team to an NBA-best 20-game improvement (27-55) over the 2005-06 season. The Raptors were 30-7 this season when they scored 100 or more points and 38-4 when they had a better (or same) field goal percentage than their opponents.

Official Site:
http://www.nba.com/raptors/