Link? I've seen nothing about Victoria ownership interested in upgrade, nor anything about fans.
No link. However, a lot of this is just common sense if you think about it. Assuming Winnipeg is no longer available, the Canucks will have to relocate their AHL team to a new city. The city of Victoria has no deep attachment to the ECHL and in terms of costs, the Canucks would pick up a large percentage of the tab for player's salaries, coaching staff, travel costs, etc. In fact, an AHL team might be cheaper to run than an ECHL team given the above. On the other hand, having the direct minor league affiliate of the Canucks in the second largest city in British Columbia (which is Canucks' territory) would only increase the profile of the Victoria team, which has been doing worse at the box office recently.
There's also an ECHL team in Alaska.
So? My point was that in terms of Victoria, the ECHL teams are really not all that much better in terms of geographical proximity to that city than the AHL teams. In fact, since Abottsford in now in the AHL, a trip to Victoria is more convenient for AHL teams than for ECHL teams.
WRT moving team to Oregon/Washington (or heck, even Idaho), what ownership? What arena?
I think if Victoria joined the AHL, a team in one of those areas would be more likely. That part was all just speculation. The Key Arena in Seattle comes to mind, however, as it no longer has a WHL or NBA tenant.
WRT Texas teams, it's a good half day of travel to/from Houston, and an afternoon of travel between Austin and San Antonio.
Per Google Maps, it's a four hour trip from Abbotsford to Victoria. Now, if a team was in/near Seattle, yes, it might be a similar travel arrangement to the Texas teams. But where's the ownership? Arena?
In regards to both the above points, it is my understanding that AHL teams that are located far away from Texas will fly into, say Houston, and then take a bus to all three AHL cities in Texas. They will spend maybe a week or more in the state playing many games once or twice a year depending on the conference of the visiting teams.
This is the model I was suggesting in relation to Abbotsford and Victoria and perhaps at some point a third AHL team in the area which helps cut travel costs. Visiting teams fly into a main airport in the area (say Vancouver) and then bus it around to the two or three AHL franchises in the area, play many games over a period of a week to 10 days, and then fly out.
As far as Google maps go, I always subtract a good 20 - 30% of the estimated travel time if I am not traveling through rush hour or some unusual circumstances. I have found them to be very conservative in their estimations of your driving speed, road conditions, etc.
GHOST
