For what it's worth, I think the most limiting factor was when you posted the tournament. 2.5 months is plenty of time for an individual to make up his mind, register, reserve a hotel, and make plans, but large tournaments need hype. If you have 6 months of notice for a tournament, it's much easier to get the hype build-up. The top players can plan **** out so they KNOW they can attend, and once you have a huge list of players wanting to go, they realize there's a lot of interest and sign up.
I'm no tourney expert, but that was just my perspective as a player. Venue fee was normal, hotel fees were great, proper room for setups is great, 24-7 venue is amazing. I just didn't want you to go thinking any of those were the problem because they weren't. That said, I'm sure the tournament will still be high energy, fun, and awesome like any properly run Melee tournament is.