[snowdude]

There's a good article out putting the Heat's attendance in perspective and how much they had to accomplish in a handful of month. Also, there's a note at the bottom of the article about how much AHL attendance is down overall.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/fraser_va.../70055352.html

In addition to hiring the rest of the Heat’s 15-member front office staff, Mauthe’s to-do list featured such nuts-and-bolts tasks as furnishing the offices with desks and phones, and ensuring the arena itself was ready to host an AHL game.
“We were really doing 12 months’ work in three, leading up to our inaugural game,” Mauthe noted.
“Until very recently, we’ve just been reacting. Now we’re getting to building that base.”

Through 203 games in October and November, AHL clubs are drawing an average of 4,383 fans per game – 17 per cent less than last year’s average of 5,115.
The Manitoba Moose, for instance, have dipped from 7,769 fans in 2008-09 to 6,433 in the early going this season. Another North Division rival, the Toronto Marlies, have seen a decrease from 3,728 to 2,456.