Mississauga Steelheads

Rink: Paramount Fine Foods Centre
Capacity: 5,612
Built: 1998
League: OHL
City: Mississauga, Ontario
Home Of: Mississauga Steelheads
Games Attended: 50
First Game: October 28, 2001 vs Plymouth
Most Recent Game: March 28, 2024 vs Sudbury
Unique Arena: #3
OHL Arena: #1

The Paramount Fine Foods Centre, more fondly remembered as the Hershey Centre, was the site of my first ever OHL/CHL game on October 28, 2001.
I have been to many games here over the years and in a way, it felt like another home, though being a Brampton fan for so long it makes it impossible to be a big fan of any of the many teams that have called this place home. The arena itself is not in a great location. It’s in an industrial park in the area where highways 401, 403 and 410 all meet just to the west of Pearson International Airport. In some ways the rink is barely in Mississauga. It sits just 7km away from the rink of their formal main rival in Brampton. Parking in Mississauga is a breeze and free, but other than that it’s a terrible location as there isn’t anything to do in the area around the arena itself. Even driving to a restaurant isn’t exactly a short trek.

The arena is a modern-day clone but with the main concourse under the seats as opposed to around the top. The main entrance dumps directly into the concourse behind one of the ends. The concourse wraps around the whole building 360 degrees and is wide (for junior) and has windows that allow natural light in which is something I always like. The concourse however is pretty bare bones. The main concession stands are in the four corners with bathrooms under the stands down the sides. There’s not much beyond that.

The bowl of the arena seats about 5,500 and has all very comfortable modern maroon seats. The angle of the seats in Mississauga is great, a tad steeper than most new clones, and all of the seats have great views of the ice. There are small standing room spots at the top of the bowl behind each net, while there is a small secondary concourse that runs along the top of one side of the bowl that has a small cafe/bar. The press box hangs high over top of this side of the building. The opposite side of the ice has all the suites at the top of the bowl. For a modern building there aren’t a ton of suites, but with the traditionally small crowds for OHL games here over the past quarter century there hasn’t been a need for more.

Since it opened in 1998, the Paramount Fine Foods Centre has been one of the better arenas in the OHL. But it’s been a shame that it has mostly been used to indifference. It has been full on very few occasions, but has had some big moments hosting three OHL final series and the 2011 Memorial Cup. More recently the Toronto Raptors minor league affiliate (905) has called this arena home, and they honestly have taken over as the main tenant despite less home dates than the Steelheads in the OHL’s final couple seasons in Mississauga. Walking around the concourse I saw more 905 stuff of the walls than Steelheads. It’s unfortunate that things never worked out for the OHL here, as it’s a great facility and one I saw many games at with my close proximity to it and ease of ticket access. Even though the atmosphere here is nonexistent the place will hold a special place in my heart as the site of my first OHL game so many years ago.