I finally got around to catching a UHL/APHL/? game last weekend. The Pittsburgh River Monsters hosted the Soo Nordiques, in a game that would best be described as quite bad. Both rosters had a handful of guys with experience in tier 3 juniors, junior C, and ACHA, and when they were on the ice, it passed as fairly watchable. The rest of the lineups were no-name beer leaguers that completed more turnovers than passes. The difference from shift to shift was pretty jarring.
That said, credit where it's due: the Monsters actually had some real effort at the game day presentation, with player intros, music, scoring announcements, raffles, and their own spin on a minor league classic: chuck-a-fish. They used online ticket sales, and at the rink they had a well-stocked merch table alongside a beer vendor. We also noticed that while Soo used some mismatched gear (helmets, socks, etc), Pittsburgh had a consistent kit, save for a few jerseys that didn't have nameplates.
They didn't announce the attendance, but I'd ballpark it (ice rink it?) at probably around 250-400, and it seemed like there were a lot of repeat customers and a lot of fans who were really into the game. So there's something of a fanbase.
For me, it isn't quite worth it. I live in the city of Pittsburgh, but the Monsters' home rink in Beaver Falls is about a 45 minute drive from the city proper. I can watch better college hockey (D1, D3, and club) much closer to home, and within an hour drive I can watch ECHL or USHL for just a few bucks more. But I can see how if I lived in that area, it could be worth it. For that reason, I think this team should have just leaned into being local rather than trying to be a 'Pittsburgh' team, especially since that part of the metro has a sort of small town pride persona rather than nondescript suburban sprawl. The Beaver Falls Beavers, anyone?