The Toronto Rock today confirmed that due to a soon-to-be announced shift in the FirstOntario Centre renovation timeline, the Toronto Rock will play their entire 2023-24 season, from start to finish, at Hamilton’s FirstOntario Centre.
The Rock made the permanent move to Hamilton and FirstOntario Centre for the 2021-22 season, coming out of the pandemic layoff. The team has enjoyed a rebirth of their loyal fan base and last season had their highest single-game attendance in over a decade with more than 13,000 fans packing Rock City in the Hammer.
“We can’t wait for the renovations to begin, but at the same time it will be nice to play the entire season, uninterrupted, at home at FirstOntario Centre,” said Dawick. “Navigating the twists and turns of a project of this magnitude are never easy, but those things are out of our control. We’re happy to give our fans some stability this season and continue roll out a high quality, competitive product on the floor, alongside an exciting and engaging sports entertainment experience for our fans.”
Upon the closure of FirstOntario Centre for renovations, the Rock will temporarily relocate their home games to the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga for the 2024-25 season. Following the completion of the renovations at FirstOntario Centre, the Rock will return to Hamilton, their permanent home.
The 2023-24 season will begin in early December with the full NLL schedule being announced in the coming weeks.
Oak View Group (OVG), the operators of the City of Hamilton owned FirstOntario Centre, alongside the Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group (HUPEG), will provide an update on the renovation timeline soon.
Other Hamilton sports teams which called the FirstOntario Centre home relocated to other cities with the impending renovations. The Bulldogs (OHL) moved to Brantford while the Honey Badgers (CEBL) relocated to Brampton.
Source: Toronto Rock