Belleville Senators
Rink: CAA Arena
Capacity: 4,400
Built: 1978
League: AHL
City: Belleville, Ontario
Home Of: Belleville Senators
Pro Games Attended: 1
Only AHL Game: March 4, 2018 vs Toronto
Unique Arena: #23
AHL Arena: #4
The former Yardmen Arena now CAA Arena is part of a large community complex that houses the Wally Dever Arena next door, gyms, pools and the Belleville Sports Hall of Fame, not to mention a combination team store and pro shop. There is also a massive parking lot around what would be considered the back of the building. However, the main entrance for the entire complex is set at the rear of the building as well. My only Belleville Senators game here came near the end of their first season in March 2018. I was disappointed to find very little evidence that the Belleville Bulls of the OHL had ever even played here. Even the sports hall of fame had a major lack of Bulls content. However in the years since this appears to have been rectified. I have not been inside since 2018 but I have seen posts on social media that a Bulls banner hangs in the building and the Sens themselves have even had Bulls themed nights and worn the old OHL jerseys for games.
Upon entering the main entrance around the back of the building you are brought past many of the facilities like the pool area and gyms. The team store and pro shop sit in the heart of the building. To get to the concourse you head up a flight of stairs. Up on this level before entering is where the sports hall of fame is located. Once inside CAA Arena itself, you enter a large open area that is elevated up behind one of the nets. This is where most of the concession stands are and there is a standing room area with tables that overlooks the ice above one of the nets. You then head left or right to walk down the sides of the rink. These concourses are quite narrow but do offer open views of the ice, however due to the balconies above the highest rows have a bit of an obstructed view of the scoreboard. The far end of the area is where the biggest change came from the Yardmen days. This end of the rink was blown out so that a large grandstand of seats could be added. These seats go a bit higher up than the ones that run down the sides of the building. There is also a concourse under those seats with a small concession stand and windows to allow natural light to flow in.
The ice during the OHL days was Olympic-sized but the renovations for the Senators arrival brought the ice down to regulation size which allowed a few more rows of seats to be installed at ice level. There are three main grandstands in Belleville set up soccer style, but some of the rink side seats do curve at the corners. The benches unlike the OHL days are now on the same side of the ice, while the press box has been migrated to the opposite side of the building from where it once was. The balconies just like in the OHL days offer a spectacular top-down view of the action, however there are a few less seats up there now with much of the area becoming suites.
At its heart CAA Arena is still a fantastic old barn that has been given a new lease on life with the renovations. The renovations were always planned to happen even while the Bulls were here, but Bulls ownership didn’t want to wait and decided to sell the team instead. While the loss of the Bulls was a tragedy for the OHL, I am happy that the fans of the Quinte region have high level hockey still to cheer on in their barn which is a fun place to watch a game. Not to mention the Senators bringing a pro level production to the game now as well.
Overall, an AHL game in Belleville is a very intimate hockey experience. It’s good to see the arena updated with some new amenities to make it a bit more modern, but as I said at the end of the day it still feels like a barn, and I mean that in the best way possible.
