LOL, I could make the case that for much of the 9 out of 10 straight years the Avs missed the playoffs, they weren't trying to rebuild either.
But they still stunk.
Point is, when teams aren't good, attendance tends to lag. I myself dumped my season tickets during the Avs' years of doing the wrong things. I'm not disputing "team icons" can affect attendance. I'm simply saying bad results also affect attendance, and a lot of formerly good teams are going to have that inevitable downturn. And good results often overcome any former negative icon effect. They sure did here in Colorado.
And of course, there are some markets that are immune to all of this. They're going to sell out regardless.