A plastic replica of a hand grenade caused an hour-long disruption outside the Air Canada Centre Friday night, just as a Toronto Raptors game was getting underway.

Police descended on the scene after receiving a report of what looked like a hand grenade outside the arena.

They immediately put road closures in place around the ACC and kept the public a safe distance away.

The Raptors game began on schedule and was not disrupted by the commotion outside.

A specialized unit was brought in to disrupt the device and upon closer examination, investigators determined the device never posed a safety issue for the public.

A short time later, police were called to the Rogers Centre a few blocks away, again for a suspicious package.

A couple of blue bins were discovered outside the stadium that did not belong on the premises. Authorities arrived on scene just after 9 p.m. to investigate.

The bins turned out to be empty.

Police on the scene said they always take reports of suspicious packages seriously in order to ensure public safety is maintained.