I think the current 8 seed format is going to hurt potential interest from potential OUA bids. Under the old format the home team got at least two games. Now it is one and done.
If I had to make a prediction right now it is that a Canada West team will be hosting in 2017/2018.
As Lakehead found out, playing a game when already eliminated doesn't do much to draw crowds, either.
The only good way around this is to not have a pre-determined host. Not sure if this would fly, but one of the qualifiers would have to host. Since almost everybody could host a 4 team tournament, they could have an NCAA-style 4 regionals, with the winners advancing to the final four. Each team would have to declare their ability to host by a deadline (since arena availability could be at issue). There could be a pre-determined priority list, i.e. first dibs go the AUS winner, second dibs to CWUAA winner, etc. on a rotational basis.
Using this year's results:
Automatic bids:
Regular season winners: Alberta, Windsor, McGill, UNB
Conference winners and runners-up: Calgary, Guelph, UQTR, Acadia
Remaining places filled "at-large" (using OHT36):
SMU, SFX, Carleton, MRU, UWO, Waterloo, UBC, Manitoba
Edmonton Regional:
Alberta
St. F-X
Carleton
Manitoba
Fredericton Regional:
UNB
McGill
Windsor
UBC
Guelph Regional:
Guelph
Acadia
MRU
Waterloo
Halifax Regional:
Saint Mary's
Calgary
UQTR
Western Ontario
Frankly, I like the 8 team system. The problem may be that not many places see themselves as a national contender, hence hosting anything beyond a 4-team tournament would be risky.