Photos by Dave Cottenie, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 2.57
CAA Centre
7575 Kennedy Road
Brampton, ON L6W 4T2
Year Opened: 1998
Capacity: 5,000
Swimming 7 KM Upstream
Major Junior hockey in the GTA has had a pretty difficult existence. The Brampton Steelheads are new to the Ontario Hockey League in 2024. The Steelheads moved 7 km north of their previous home in Mississauga. With low attendance and a reported increase in rent, a move out of Mississauga became desirable. The Steelheads were founded in 1996 as a school affiliated team, the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors. Owner Eugene Melnyk, unable to find a more suitable home than the historic, yet drastically undersized St. Michael’s College School Arena, purchased the Mississauga IceDogs in 2007. The intention was to get control of the lease in Mississauga, move the Majors there and sell the IceDogs. The IceDogs would move to St. Catharines to become the Niagara IceDogs. The Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors lasted until 2012 when they were sold to a group led by Elliott Kerr and rebranded the Mississauga Steelheads.
The home for the Steelheads is CAA Centre. The city owned arena opened in 1998 and has a capacity of 5,000. It is an appropriate home for OHL hockey as it housed the Brampton Battalion from 1998 to 2013, before they moved to North Bay. A familiar story for OHL hockey in the GTA is once again brewing, low attendance and an uncertain future.
Food & Beverage 3
CAA Centre has a moderate selection of concession options. Hot dogs, burgers, nachos, pizza, fries, poutine, chicken nuggets, and popcorn are available. Select stands offer ice cream options. Pepsi products are the soft drink of choice at CAA Centre. Water, coffee, tea and hot chocolate are also available. Some stands also offer limited beer options.
Atmosphere 2
CAA Centre has a fairly pedestrian exterior. Light coloured siding can be found around the exterior and CAA Centre offers no main or grand entrance. One of the curiosities of CAA Centre is a large decorative rock honouring former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Joey Smallwood sits at the west entrance of the arena. Entry into CAA Centre leads to a cramped concourse. CAA Centre is a hub for the Brampton hockey community as it also has three other NHL sized rinks along with the main spectator arena. Around the concourse there are some Steelheads markings. It is clear that the Steelheads are embracing their Mississauga history. Team photos from past Mississauga Steelheads teams are found in the concourse. The most interesting part of the concourse is definitely the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame. Fans can peruse the portraits of inducted members and include Cassie Campbell, Jamie Storr, Stan Butler and Rick Nash amongst others. The concourse is a horseshoe design and does not offer a 360 degree path around the rink.
Upon entering the seating bowl, fans will find the ice oriented from east to west with truss supports across the roof. Fans should find themselves on the south side of the seating for the perfect centre ice logo picture. The four-sided videoboard that hangs above the ice is unique in that it is essentially four screens over four small scoreclocks. It is simple but effective. The Steelheads bringing their history with them continues in the seating bowl as there are two Mississauga Steelheads banners for a 2017 Division and Conference Championship, hanging above the ice. There is also a banner honouring former OHL Commissioner David Branch and his 45 years of service. This banner can be found in all OHL buildings for the 2024-2025 season. The seating consists of 15 rows of purple arena seats with some sections having padding. There is no seating at the east end and a number of luxury boxes are found along the north and south sides, behind the general seating. The CAA Centre itself is not that unique and is essentially the same design as the arenas in Mississauga, Sarnia and others. The gameday production of a Steelheads game is fairly simple. The game begins with a minor hockey player skating around the ice, carrying a Steelheads flag and then is joined by mascots Sauga and Rosie, both monikers that are unique to Mississauga, but have little relevance to Brmapton. The 50/50 draw and chuck-a-puck are also staples of a Steelheads game.
Neighbourhood 3
CAA Centre is located adjacent to the County Court neighbourhood of Brampton. It is on the grounds of the larger Brampton Sports Park and as a result, there is little for pre or post game food and drink in the immediate area. A short drive in the car offers a few choices. New China Garden and Pomodoro Italian Kitchen are more unique options to go along with a number of large chain restaurants north of the arena on Steeles.
As far as other sporting options in the area, the CAA Centre is also the home of the Brampton Honey Badgers of the CEBL, but their schedule will not cross the Steelheads schedule. The Brampton Excelsiors of the OJLL also play in the summer. The CAA Centre is a few short minutes from the town of Caledon East and their three hockey teams, the Caledon Admirals, Bombers and Golden Hawks. There are far more options for fans willing to expand their search into Mississauga or Toronto. Other tourist options in the area include the Peel Art Gallery and checking out Downtown Brampton. However, Brampton is very much part of the GTA and far more options can be found by heading to Toronto. For fans wishing to stay in the area, the Fairfield Inn Brampton is not far away.
Fans 2
A combination of increasing rent and poor attendance are the reasons the Steelheads jettisoned Mississauga in favour of Brampton. However, as of this writing, the attendance has not made a huge increase since the move. The 2023-2024 season saw the Mississauga Steelheads draw 2,400 fans per game, good for the basement of the OHL. The Brampton Steelheads have not climbed any higher and as of this writing have attracted only 1,940 fans per game in the 2024-2025 season. The fans that are in attendance don’t bring much excitement, and the experience ends up feeling rather depressing.
Access 3
The CAA Centre is located adjacent to the County Court neighbourhood of Brampton. It is at essentially the confluence of Highways 410 and 407, on Kennedy Road. Fans coming from out of province should beware that Highway 407 is a toll highway. Although it may seem that getting to the arena is not difficult, traffic in this area can be a real chore, especially on Highway 410 during the week. There is free parking on site, but beware that there are a number of spots that are reserved for season ticket holders. For fans wishing to take public transit to the game, there are Brampton Transit bus stops on Kennedy Road. Fans should consult the Brampton Transit website for fares, maps and schedules.
Inside the CAA Centre, the concourses are small and can get cramped. Considering the low number of fans in attendance, this is definitely a concern. It is not possible to walk a full 360 degree circle in the concourse and doubling back may be necessary. The washroom facilities are decent in the facility.
Stadium Journey acknowledges that the security protocols in major sports are constantly changing. It is highly recommended that fans consult the Brampton Steelheads and CAA Centre websites for prohibited items and safety procedures.
Return on Investment 3
Brampton Steelhead tickets are on a tiered system with the lowest priced seats at $26 up to $31 for platinum. Gallery seats are $50 and are at the top of the east end and offer in-seat service. There are discounts also for youth and seniors. Parking on site is free and concession prices are a bit on the expensive side. The plus is that OHL hockey is among the best anywhere and in their first season the Brampton Steelheads have a strong team on the ice. For an improved ROI, for fans in the stands to provide a better experience is necessary.
Extras 2
An extra mark for the Brampton Steelheads embracing the Mississauga Steelheads history.
An extra mark for the Steelheads focus on youth hockey and bringing out as many youth teams as they can.
Final Thoughts
It remains to be seen if the Steelheads can make a successful transition to Brampton. At the time of writing it seems that the move from Mississauga was not necessarily a bad one, but Brampton has not provided a significant improvement for the team. Even though it is only 7 km from their former home to the CAA Centre, the Steelheads are definitely swimming upstream!
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