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Jurassic Park has arrived in Regina.
Hundreds of basketball fans filled City Square Plaza Friday night to watch the Raptors play Game 4 of the NBA Championships against the Golden State Warriors.
The viewing party was the first time the Queen City has held such an event, following in the footsteps of Toronto’s original ‘Jurassic Park’ and a number of other Canadian cities that have been swept up by Raptor nation.
The game was shown on a giant LED screen downtown, which also featured a number of food tucks serving poutine, hot dogs and popcorn for fans.
“It brings more community and more togetherness,” said Shylow Chief, an attendee and new Raptors fan as a result of their playoff run. “Canada is a great place.”
Jurassic Park was planned by the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District (RDBID), which was approached by the city earlier in the week to pull the event together.
“It’s just a great atmosphere,” said RDBID executive director Judith Veresuk. “It’s great to see the city embracing the Raptors when we are such a Rider town.”
Veresuk said RDBID brought in a variety of vendors for the event, including Mr. Spudd’s Poutinerie, The Bannock House, J&P Concessions and Grayson Sausage. The plaza also featured a sign making contest, where the winner received a free Raptors jersey.
The event also brought in a number of die-hard fans, who have long awaited their team’s first final appearance.
“I’ve been a Raptors fan for like 20 years … I went to Game 2,” said Jantara Saydarath as he showed off his Raptors shirt. “I was excited to hear that downtown Regina was going to do something and host a Jurassic Park.”
Large turnout for Jurassic Park in #yqr #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/bxyFo4530G
— Nathan W. Meyer (@NathanWMeyer1) June 8, 2019
The venue was also a popular choice for many attendees, with bars and restaurants in the area.
“We just live down the street,” said Bob Petrovitch, a longtime Raptors fan. “We wanted to come down here and support the Toronto Raptors, Canada’s team, support what’s going on in Regina here, and have some fun.”
However, the event at City Square Plaza was short lived as plans were announced Friday to move the venue to Mosaic Stadium for Game 5.
“There’s always opportunity to utilize the stadium,” said Veresuk. “That being said, I know some of the businesses here are looking for opportunities to keep the viewing party going on down here.”
After defeating Golden State 105-92, the Raptors are now up 3-1 in the series and have a chance to win its very first NBA Championship in franchise history.
“The hype is already on, let’s keep on going,” said Chief before the announcement was made.
Petrovitch echoes the sentiment about a second event.
“I think (the Raptors) are a great ambassador to Canada,” he said. “They’re showing the rest of the world that Canada’s the place; we can compete with anybody, in any sport — that’s all we want right?”