The purpose of this paper is to review arena construction since 1995 in small- to mid-sized Canadian communities, where Canadian Hockey League (CHL) teams act as anchors for their respective facilities. Following an overview of facilities, development patterns are compared across leagues within the CHL, and to the process that occurs at the major league level. Like their big league counterparts, arguments are made that teams and arenas are critical to the status and economic health of communities. However, the arena is the critical driver of city growth strategies, while the CHL franchise is required as the primary tenant to make arena operations viable.