Does anyone feel that the success (or lack thereof) of the Mavericks and Stars plays into this at all?
I don't think so. The Stars draw really well- 97% full at 18k per game average (http://www.espn.com/nhl/attendance) (I know that these are tickets sold and not necessarily fans in the seats - but if the Stars numbers are inflated then everyone else's are too) and The Rangers draw well and their new park is actually has fewer seats than the existing one.
Mavs were 5th in the league this year in attendance, at over 100% of seats sold.
My opinion: once the buildings are filled, VP will be fine.