"I think that all depends on the your team." - CharlieGirl.
Yup.
A lot of you are overanalyzing attendance.
For those who have followed the league since the 70s and 80s the league has never been better. The players have gotten better and the quality of the teams have gotten better. As for the rules, the NHL will be micmicking the OHL rules sooner rather than later, so really in both cases it doesn't hold water.
If you look at the numbers of the league as provided by the link from StormSurge the numbers over the years have been pretty steady.
http://www.hockeyattendance.com/teams/#
Keep in mind, that a number of new rinks were built in the OHL over the last 10-15 years which always accounts for a little bit of bump in attendance as the newness factor kicks in. The Q has benefited not from winning 3 Memorial Cups but a couple of new rinks opening up in the last 5 years in Boisbriand, Sherbrooke and Shawinigan. Also having a superstar like MacKinnon in a big market like Halifax helps. His arrival in Halifax, in a large arena, helped attendance spike up 25% and then 31% on top of that. They went from 5,331 to 8,686 in 2 years. With him gone, it's dropped 13% to 7518. Still pretty good numbers.
If you look at the OHL it comes down to three things.
1) Team on the ice, results
2) Ownership
3) Rink
The biggest drop in attendance in the league has been in Ottawa. Ottawa is a huge market and any drop there is felt across the league. When Hunt took over the team he put a lot of time and effort into marketing, since then not so much. Also doesn't help that the rink is going through renovations. So going from 8000 to 4000, it's going to have an affect on numbers.
But look across the league.
Barrie - numbers are pretty steady, though they dropped a bit when Howie Campbell took over. A lot of Barrie fans aren't big fans of Howie.
Belleville - Up and down with the results of the team, doesn't help there's talk of Belleville moving. Ask Bulls fans.
Erie - Like Belleville doesn't help there's always talk of Erie moving lately. Results on the ice have been of late too, which doesn't help. But with renovations done and the rink look good, plus having Connor McDavid will help.
Guelph - Pretty steady attendance that fluctuates with the team. Right up it's up because Guelph has one of the best teams in the league.
Kingston - Kingston fans hate Springer, but with the team being better on the ice, there's been a rise in attendance.
Kitchener - Been pretty steady since DeBoer took over, increased capacity helped last year. Down this year because the team is rebuilding.
London - Steady since the rink opened in 2002.
Mississauga - Actually pretty steady since the rink opened. Went up during the Memorial Cup year. Attendance is slightly up this year compared to last year.
Niagara - Pretty steady due to limited capacity. Will get a bump when they move to the new rink.
Oshawa - Gone down since the new rink opened and when John Tavares was there. Local economy also took a huge hit but still pretty steady.
Ottawa - Biggest dropper mainly due to ownership, team results of late, team playing in Kanata now. Ottawa fans will explain.
Owen Sound - Up and down with the team, last year was the best year in recent memory.
Peterborough - Another huge dropper. From 3400 the year they won the league in 2006 to just over 2200 now. Again, all due to the team not doing well over the last few years.
Plymouth - Pretty steady
Saginaw - Up and down with the team
Sarnia - Usually pretty steady, but attendance rests on the team's play. Lack of playoff success has always hurt.
Sault Ste. Marie - Has dropped since the new rink opened in 2006, attendance depends on the team, should see a slight rise this year.
Sudbury - Mark Burgess
Windsor - Another big dropper. Huge crowds when the new rink opened which corresponded to their Memorial Cup run year. But team hasn't been as good, complaints about ownership from some fans, game day changes, local economy being hit, attendance has gone down from 6200 to below 5000.
So there you have it. It's not about the stars, style of play or rules, it's about how the team does, how fans perceive ownership and the game day experience.
If London ever stunk, their crowds would be affected. A 5% drop in London has a bigger affect than a 10% raise in Owen Sound for example. Ottawa going from 8000 to 4000 has a huge affect on league numbers. Just like Halifax going from 4000 to 8000 has be affect.
I guarantee Quebec league numbers will be down this year because of the fact attendance at Quebec Remparts games is going to drop big, already down (-21% this year). Same thing in Halifax (-13% this year) and Saint John (-26.5% this year). Those are the three biggest rinks in the Q.
So I should add a 4th category - star power.
That's why as much as some fans complain, the CHL just wants to get the best players in the league. They don't care which teams get them as long as they get them.