I was at the press conference today and I think there's more to it than just attendance. Melnyk spoke about the Marlies and Montreal's AHL team, which will be in Laval next season, and how fans of both teams can travel to see their team here as well. He also talked about this move (among other things) helping strengthen their Sens fan base here in Belleville. If the AHL team is growing the overall Sens fan base in a location that is fairly central to Leafs, Habs, and Sens fan bases, then the attendance likely isn't as high of a priority because there is a higher importance of growing the overall Sens fan base, which converts to brand loyalty and increased profits in the form of NHL tickets & merchandise, Ottawa Sens tv ratings, etc.
Currently some local kids hockey teams are called the Junior Bulls. I think it's only a matter of time before they are called the Sens as well. There is going to be a whole generation of kids who grow up being part of a local minor league Sens hockey team, and/or attend AHL Belleville Sens games. Eventually some of the local AHL heroes they were fans of here will become NHL stars. Once they move on to the NHL, it's tough to cheer against the guys you just admired, got autographs of, and slapped hands with at the tunnels during games. Those are the kinds of memories adults of all ages talk about when explaining why they cheer for a certain team: "my parents took me to a Leafs game as a young kid and (Mats Sundin) flipped me a puck during warm-ups. I still have that puck", "my Dad and I used to watch the Canadiens on tv every Saturday night and I grew up watching Guy Lafleur. I've been a die-hard Habs fan ever since". I hear these types of things all the time. As for me, I grew up outside of Edmonton during the 80's and took an interest in hockey by myself as my parents weren't hockey fans. In 1990 our minor hockey team started going to Oilers games each year and that same season my parents took me to the Oilers' Stanley Cup parade, which is something I'll never forget. I've never given my loyalty a second thought. Even though I like the Leafs, the Oilers are my #1 without a question. Once kids are hooked from an early age, it's tough to get them to change their loyalty. This could be a way for the Sens to start building a better fan base around Belleville, which is why I think their sole focus won't be on just ticket sales and attendance. This area is in a unique location in terms of being near 3 NHL regions and the Ottawa Senators are jumping in to increase their share.