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Report: Louisville's arena an option to house Raptors next season

Joe Robbins / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Toronto Raptors could be based out of Kentucky in 2020-21.

The KFC Yum! Center, home of the NCAA's Louisville Cardinals, has been suggested as an alternate option to host the Raptors next season if they cannot play in Toronto due to federally imposed travel restrictions, sources told Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill.

The league is reportedly expected to discuss the situation on an upcoming call alongside a variety of other topics.

Businessman Junior Bridgeman, a former NBA player and Louisville star, has apparently been in contact about the potential relocation.

The Raptors face a unique predicament within the NBA as the league's only Canadian franchise. Currently, all travelers entering Canada must immediately quarantine for 14 days upon arrival by law, making it nearly impossible for the franchise to operate as usual out of the Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto.

The land border shared with the United States has also been closed since March to all non-essential travel, with Canada recently extending restrictions through Nov. 21.

Other professional sports franchises in Toronto have also had to find new temporary homes in the U.S. recently. The Blue Jays moved to their Triple-A ballpark in Buffalo for the 2020 MLB season and Toronto FC is currently playing out of East Hartford, Connecticut, to finish the MLS campaign.

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