$70m hangover: Sting in the tail for Lions’ new den

The Brisbane Lions could be forced to pay back compensation given to the club for lost revenue to offset being unable to play at the Gabba for at least four years.

The Brisbane Lions could be forced to pay back compensation given to the club for lost revenue to offset being unable to play at the Gabba for at least four years while it is demolished and rebuilt.

The Courier-Mail understands discussions about the makeup of payments to the Lions include the potential of a loan from the state government up to $70m – but with the need for it to be repaid within 30 years.

The Brisbane Lions – who this year made both the AFL and AFLW grand finals and achieved a record membership of more than 52,000 – on Friday declined to comment on whether they were being offered compensation with the caveat that it would need to be paid back.

In a statement following reports the state government would pay one-third of the costs associated with upgrading the RNA Showgrounds arena so it could be used as a temporary home for the club from the 2026 season, chief executive Greg Swann said dialogue on the plan needed to progress as quickly as possible.

Dayne Zorko with fans at the Lions’ home base at Springfield in Ipswich

“Naturally, a displacement of four or more years represents a major upheaval to the Lions as a club, our fans and members, and we need to ensure we’re as strong as possible to return to the Gabba when it is complete,” he said.

Mr Swann also said it was pleasing to see the government supported the RNA option, and the process was finally moving forward.

“As the government has said, today is a starting point, and there is a lot of detail to work through,” he said.

Asked about the discussions between the state government and the Lions, a spokesman for Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said negotiations over terms were open, to occur between the parties.

“Those parties understand this,” he said.

Mr Hinchliffe told a media conference on Friday there were no contractual requirements the state government would be subjected to regarding the sporting codes’ displacement as a result of the Gabba rebuild.

It was understood the parties involved were being told one option would be to access low-interest loans through the government.

Players with fans at the Lions’ home base at Springfield in Ipswich

Minister Assisting the Premier on Games Infrastructure Steven Miles last week announced the Gabba would be totally demolished and rebuilt from late 2025 – with the new stadium not expected to be ready until at least 2030.

In 2020 the NRL lobbied the New South Wales government to pay millions of dollars of compensation for lost revenue during the building of Allianz Stadium while ANZ Stadium would also be out of action, meaning two Grand Finals would need to be played at the SCG.

Then premier Gladys Berejiklian ultimately dumped the plans for the ANZ refurbishment.

Questioned about claims the sporting codes who currently use the Gabba were “blindsided” by the government’s announcement on the RNA, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Friday Mr Hinchliffe would be “sitting down and speaking to them, but they have been crying out for a solution and here is a solution that has lots of benefits”.

“It’s a win-win,” she said.

“The government gets the right to announce it.

“The minister has announced it and now he’ll do the detailed consultation, and hopefully some of those teams will also be able to put into the redevelopment.”