Nearly 30 people attended the second public information session for Brantford’s proposed sports and entertainment centre (SEC) on Wednesday, October 8, 2025.
When the Brantford Bulldogs relocated to the city in 2023 after losing its home at the FirstOntario Centre (formerly Copps Coliseum), part of the agreement involved the City exploring the development of a new, more modern facility. Plans for the proposed sports and entertainment centre have been in the works for nearly two years now.
During the event, which was held at the Walter Gretzky Municipal Golf Course, residents had the chance to view several concept designs for the proposed centre and to ask questions of City staff and project representatives from Stantec.
Plans for the building include seating for 5,300 seats at hockey games and approximately 7,000 for concerts.
“This is going to be neighbouring the existing TD Civic Centre, and the goal here is to really create a multi-use entertainment centre that can be used, not just for hockey, but for other events like Disney on Ice or concerts, and event conferences too,” said Afaf Naseem, Architectural Design Project Manager with Stantec. “We’ve been really excited to work with the City of Brantford because of what it means to the city to have a place that can affect its growth and can bring more people here, so it’s really important to make this a place that can be used for many different purposes.
Tim Ruppel, an Engineering Design Project Manager with Stantec, said that when it comes to the design of the building, there’s been a large focus on making it accessible for those who use wheelchairs and their companions.
“There’s a really big push to make this building accessible, especially due to some of the limitations in the current arena, and so we’ve taken into account both the City’s standards and also what’s required by code,” he said. “So in comparison to the existing building, there will be things like elevators, accessible washrooms, accessible seating and accessible parking spaces. We’re also really taking into account the view lines because no matter what event you’re attending here, if you’re a fan, you don’t want to have an obstructed view.”
The two added that one of the big questions they were hearing throughout the evening information session was the parking.
“We’ve had a lot of questions about parking, and while there will be parking located in the direct vicinity of the building, there’s also a parking garage just north of Market Street that can be utilized during game days and during concert days as well,” said Naseem.
Brantford resident Dave Goodacre said that while parking may pose an issue, there are many arenas and centres that deal with similar issues.
“I mean if you’ve ever gone to the old Copps Coliseum, parking is a major issue down there too,” he said. “We still have the parking garage here, which really isn’t that far and it’s free on weekends and during Bulldogs games too so I guess that’s a plus.”
Goodacre said that overall, he thought the designs looked good.
“I’m a little worried if there’s going to be any viewing problems, just because it looks like the seating is going to be right up close to the glass. But other than that though, it looks like it’s going to be able to house more people, while still maintaining that feeling of the crowd being on top of the space,” he said. “I know as far as the hockey games go, the Bulldogs really like having the crowd on top of them like that because it gets them fired up, while the opposing teams don’t like it because when Brantford starts scoring, the energy just goes through the roof.”
As far as the argument about Brantford not needing another arena, Goodacre said it was clear from the designs that the proposed building can be utilized for other events during the off season.
“People keep saying it’s an arena, but it’s more than that,” he said. “Kim Mitchell used to play at the Civic Centre every year – we used to have that kind of stuff but we started to lose that at some point. I think having this building will definitely open more opportunities for music events which is nice.”
Season tickets holder, Marg Phillips, said she attended the information session to see how the building would fit in the space.
“It seems to mesh pretty good, it looks like they’ve got it so it fits in like a little puzzle piece which is interesting,” she said.
Phillips also added that she was also happy to see that it wasn’t going to be just a hockey arena.
“If you’re going to build something new, you may as well make it a multi-functional facility versus just a hockey arena, right?” she said. “And anytime you have a project like this, it’s going to spin off into other businesses like restaurants and hotels, and just everything else too. I think between this and the future development on the other side of Market Street, it’s going to be good in the long run. People don’t like change and they think it’s a waste of money, but they don’t understand that you have to spend money to bring people into town and I think this is definitely going to be a good thing.”
The next information centre will take place on Thursday, October 16, at the TD Civic Centre from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
