From Jurassic Park, to Jurassic Peel to Jurassic…. Crescent?
Montreal is closing Crescent Street Thursday night so crowds can watch Game Six of the NBA Championships, while a second street viewing party will take place on Peel Street.
The game pits the Toronto Raptors against the Golden State Warriors; if the Raptors win, they’ll be the first Canadian basketball team will win the championship. The Raptors lead the series 3-2.
Crescent Street will be closed to traffic and the game will be shown on a Jumbotron when it starts at 9 p.m. Merchants took advantage of a scheduled wrestling event that was set to take place on the street at 7p.m. to keep the street closed and let the party continue.
On Monday, thousands of basketball fans took over Peel Street as they cheered for the Raptors in what was dubbed ‘Jurassic Peel’ – again there, merchants took advantage of planned closures from F1 weekend to make the event happen. There was no celebration, though, as the Raptors came up just short of a win with a 106-105 score.
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante is all for the Montreal viewing party.
"Looking at the crowd that was there the last time, I felt as mayor of Ville-Marie it's a great opportunity to support sports,” she said. “I just love the fact that as Montrealers, especially now that we have a bit of sun, we have nice evenings, people want to be outside, and I like opportunities like that to take back our streets and enjoy it."
Montreal may have a rivalry with Toronto when it comes to hockey, but when it comes to basketball, We The North.
“Even if it's a Toronto team, I'm cool with it!” said Plante.
