VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The NBA is coming to Vancouver next week and a group of fans who hope to bring a team back to the city are donning their Grizzles gear to rally before the game.
A preseason game between the Dallas Mavericks and the LA Clippers is set for Oct. 17 at Rogers Arena. Former Raptor and championship MVP Kawhi Leonard is expected to suit up for the game.
Kat Jayme is organizing the rally and says the success of the Raptors has renewed calls for the return of a team to Vancouver, which lost the Grizzlies in 2001.
“The Raptors winning was a huge thing for Canadian basketball,” she says. “But obviously there was a part of me that but there was a part of me that was like–that could have been us.”
Jayme has joined forces with other die-hard basketball and Grizzlies fans and hopes the rally will draw a substantial crowd so investors and the league will see there is an appetite for the sport in the city.
“We just want the NBA back in Vancouver. It was so magical to have it in our own backyard as kids and that’s what I want for this future generation.”
For fans like Jayme, the Grizzlies–despite having relocated to Memphis–will always be Vancouver’s team.
“We’re just waiting for our second chance,” she says.
The rally will start at and Jayme wants people to show up 4:30 p.m. dressed in their jerseys and encourages anyone who wants to take part to bring signs and white rally towels