I wonder if the 2,500 OHL fans per game in Belleville will be sufficient to support an AHL team?
I broke down the numbers once before, what with Hamilton going from the AHL to OHL and if I recall, it generally costs an additional $100,000 more in salary as opposed to OHL Billet and scholarship costs to run an AHL team over an OHL team, and that's before travel costs are worked into the equation. That said, those travel costs are harder to gague now, as I believe the NHL contributes somewhat to travel expenses now, because of how many of the western teams demanded AHL teams be rellocated to California to ease their travel burdens. That said, I still doubt those travel costs are cheaper then the OHL being able to charter busses.
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?p=110145607&highlight=ahl#post110145607
Here is the other thing, a lot of AHL teams are now owned by the NHL parent club and most of those clubs tend to be willing to tank losses in markets for to have a team closer to the NHL club, for faster less exhausting call ups. Case and point, the Marlies and Toronto, most of the West coast AHL teams now, the Moose and Winnipeg and soon the Ice Caps and Montreal. If the Sens end up owning the team, this is what is actually driving this, don't be surprised if Kanata or Gattineau ends up with the AHL club.
I think the situation is best summerized by Duane Rollins, a well known Toronto soccer buff who was also a Belleville fan.
"The best news of the AHL team moving to Belleville is that it is forcing renovations to arena that will eventually lead to return of Bulls."