Same Goal, Different Plays: How Brantford and Sudbury Are Building Their Next Arenas

Brantford: With a working budget of about $140 million and a planned capacity of around 5,300 seats for hockey, the cost per seat comes in at roughly $26 400. If you include expanded capacity for concerts and shows (estimated at 6,600+), the ratio improves a bit, but hockey capacity is the baseline for comparison.

Sudbury: Sudbury’s Event Centre has an approved budget of $200 million and 5,800 fixed seats, which translates to a cost per seat of about $34,500. If the budget creeps toward $225 million, as some projections suggest, that number climbs to roughly $39,000 per seat.

Brantford’s SEC has a lower cost per seat than Sudbury’s Event Centre, placing it on the more efficient end of current mid‑market arena projects. Both are much more expensive per seat than older Ontario arenas built in the early 2000s (which cost closer to $6,000–$10,000 per seat), but construction costs have obviously risen sharply since then.

Brantford: Brantford has about 106,000 residents. If the city were to borrow the full $140 million for the SEC, that works out to roughly $1,320 per person. The plan, however, isn’t to dump that entire burden on taxpayers. City staff have said they will offset borrowing costs through a mix of downtown tax uplift, Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) revenues, naming rights, and the sale of city‑owned properties. This layered approach should keep property taxes in check, but it depends on new downtown development and sponsorship deals coming through. If those revenue streams lag, the debt could still end up on the tax bill.

Sudbury: Greater Sudbury has a population of around 166,000. Council has approved $135 million in new debt for its Event Centre, which equals about $813 per resident. Sudbury’s approach is more straightforward: borrow the money, use MAT revenue to help pay it back, and provide quarterly updates to Council. It’s less creative than Brantford’s plan, but it does give the city a more predictable financing path. If the budget creeps up to $225 million, the per‑person cost would rise, though it’s still below Brantford’s ratio because Sudbury has a larger tax base.

Brantford’s financing model feels lighter to taxpayers because it leans on future growth and sponsorship dollars, but it carries more risk if those revenues don’t materialize. Sudbury’s debt‑heavy plan is simpler and more certain, but it means residents are on the hook from day one.

Brantford: This project isn’t just about hockey, aside from hosting a litany of other events, conferences, trade shows, concerts, etc., it’s meant to breathe life into the lower downtown. Vacancy or turnoverrates are still high, and a lot of the land around Market Street and Colborne Street East is underused or waiting for something to happen.

This project will be the spark plug for the developers that are waiting in the wings with planned projects in the same area. That’s the dream. The risk / worst case scenario is if the private developments that have been waiting on this decision do not come to fruition.

Sudbury: Sudbury’s strategy goes wider. Their Event Centre is part of a larger rebuild that includes a Cultural Hub, new public spaces, and a plan to fill cleared downtown blocks with mixed-use projects. The goal is constant activity – art and library visitors by day, hockey and concerts by night. It’s civic design as a full-court press.

It also means higher stakes. When you build everything at once, you get energy and momentum, but you also carry the risk that one delay slows the whole thing down.

Brantford’s putting one big spark downtown and hoping it catches. Sudbury’s lighting the whole matchbook. Ours is leaner, faster, and more focused on one anchor tenant. Theirs is larger and more coordinated. Both cities are trying to prove the same thing… that a new arena can change the story of a downtown.

Brantford: The SEC’s parking plan relies on using the existing supply downtown. There are more than 1,500 public parking spaces within a five‑minute walk, including nearly 500 on‑street spots and several municipal lots. The biggest asset is the Market Centre Parkade, a three‑level garage with roughly 941 spaces just north of Market Street. It’s most likely that this parkade will be the go‑to garage on game and concert nights. (It already offers free parking during Bulldogs games.) The city hasn’t announced any new parking construction or major transit upgrades, so success will hinge on good signage, lighting and pedestrian routes, and on whether that existing supply can handle big event nights.

Sudbury: Greater Sudbury plans to continue the dispersed parking model it uses for the current arena. City FAQs note there are 14 surface lots and one underground lot downtown, providing 2,182 public parking spaces; when nearby private lots are included, the total rises to 3,648 spaces. Rather than building a new garage, the city expects event‑goers to park in these existing lots and walk a few blocks. This avoids a big capital cost but depends on people being willing to walk and on those lots being available when events are on.

Both cities are choosing to leverage existing parking instead of building new structures. Brantford’s supply is smaller, so it will need to manage demand carefully and perhaps encourage more transit or rideshare use. Sudbury has a larger pool of spaces, giving it more breathing room. In both cases, wayfinding, lighting and pedestrian safety will be key to making the walk from lot to arena feel comfortable.

Brantford: This isn’t going to be just a hockey rink. The SEC is designed to seat around 5,300 for hockey and can expand to roughly 6,600 for concerts and other shows. The long‑term lease with the Bulldogs gives the venue a strong anchor tenant. But the real win will be if Brantford can fill open dates with mid‑sized concerts, family shows, and community events—acts that often skip over us on their way between Hamilton and Toronto. Early talk about making the building flexible enough for everything from ice shows, trade shows, food and drink events, concerts and conferences. How well that plays out will depend on how aggressive the booking strategy is and whether promoters see Brantford as a viable stop.

Sudbury: Sudbury’s Event Centre is slightly bigger, with 5,800 fixed seats and room to add more for larger events. It includes a mix of bowl seating, club seats, loge boxes and suites, aiming to attract not just hockey and small concerts but touring acts that need a mid‑size Northern Ontario stop. The city has positioned it as a regional hub for sports, concerts and community events. Premium seating and suites should help drive revenue and lure bigger shows, but the market will have to support enough events to fill that capacity.

Sudbury’s scale and premium options give it a shot at drawing bigger, more diverse events. Brantford’s advantage lies in locking down the Bulldogs and targeting spillover acts that might otherwise bypass us. Success for both cities will hinge on aggressive event booking and creating a facility that works just as well for concerts and family shows as it does for hockey.

Brantford: In February 2025, City Council voted to use a progressive design‑build model for the SEC. That means hiring a single team to design and build the arena together, rather than bidding each part separately. The goal is to reduce risk, improve collaboration and give the City more say in cost control. Brantford has already issued a request for qualifications and begun releasing tender packages for early work like concrete foundations. But until a full contract is signed, inflation is still a threat. The longer the City waits to lock in prices, the more material and labour costs could climb.

Sudbury: Sudbury locked in its construction partner in September 2025 when it hired PCL Construction as the Construction Manager. Under this model, PCL works with the City and the architects to manage design and costs, with quarterly budget updates to Council. This approach gives Sudbury more tools to handle inflation and supply chain surprises, but it doesn’t eliminate cost risk altogether—especially if construction markets stay hot.

Sudbury is ahead of Brantford on procurement. It has a builder in place and a process for monitoring costs. Brantford needs to finalize its design‑build team soon to avoid being caught by rising construction prices.

Brantford: The biggest win for Brantford is certainty. In January 2025, the City signed a 15‑year Memorandum of Understanding with the Brantford Bulldogs, with options that could extend the agreement up to 40 years. That anchors the arena’s business case: we know there will be OHL hockey here for the long haul, which means steady ticket sales and a built‑in fan base. It also gives the community something to rally around. The City hasn’t announced naming rights or major corporate sponsorships yet, so those are still untapped revenue streams that could help offset costs.

Sudbury: Sudbury isn’t there yet. The City and the Sudbury Wolves have been negotiating a long‑term lease, but as of late 2025 nothing had been finalized. The team is supportive of the new event centre, but until a contract is signed there’s no guarantee they’ll stay long term. On the revenue side, Sudbury’s design includes premium seating like club seats, loge boxes and suites, which can command higher prices and bring in more money over time. That gives them a chance to out‑earn Brantford on per‑seat revenue if the market supports it.

Brantford has locked in its anchor tenant, which means predictability and community buy‑in. Sudbury has more uncertainty on its lease but more upside from premium seating. The revenue equation in Sudbury could look better in the long run if the Wolves commit and the market fills those high‑end seats.

Brantford: The SEC’s community‑use details haven’t been spelled out yet. The city has mentioned that it will host public skating, minor hockey tournaments, and flexible event spaces, but full programming plans are still to come. Whatever the final design looks like, it will need to meet modern accessibility standards so every fan can enjoy the building. That means fully accessible seating, concourses, and amenities that comply with OHL requirements and the Ontario Building Code.

Sudbury: Sudbury’s Event Centre is being designed with accessibility front and centre. The city’s FAQ emphasizes features like wide concourses, universal seating options, and inclusive design. They also note that Indigenous engagement has been part of the planning process. By baking those elements in from the start, Sudbury is trying to create a venue that works for everyone, not just sports fans.

Sudbury has put accessibility at the heart of its new arena. Brantford will need to show the same commitment to inclusive design and community programming if it doesn’t want to fall behind public expectations.