The Brisbane Lions boss has weighed in on what the Victoria Park stadium rejection means for the club

Brisbane Lions boss Greg Swann says he was “genuinely excited” by the Victoria Park 55-000-seat stadium proposal and admitted the shock decision could hamstring the club.

The dilapidated state of the Gabba and the refusal to invest in a new stadium has kicked the can down the road by creating a costly headache for future leaders, the Brisbane Lions have warned.

Queensland’s major football franchise bemoaned the state government’s decision to reject an independent review’s recommendation to build a new stadium in Victoria Park, leaving the growing AFL club with a tired and undersized facility.

Amid the endless bickering over infrastructure promises and cancelled developments, the Lions have been dragged back to the original position to grapple with a stadium that risks stunting the sport’s development in Queensland and robs disabled fans of access to the sport’s stars.

Brisbane Lions CEO Greg Swann has weighed in on what the Victoria Park stadium rejection means for the club. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

A day after Premier Steven Miles committed to direct Olympic investments to upgrade the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, Lions chief executive Greg Swanntold The Courier-Mail the AFL side was “genuinely excited about the prospect of Victoria Park”.

“In the next 10 years, we’re going to have, between us and cricket, four million patrons go through the Gabba and you’ve got this facility that’s getting older and older and (the need to renovate) will be kicked down the road,” he said.

The Lions chief said the side was appreciative the government has pledged to invest in minor upgrades to the Gabba but feared the capacity restriction will leave fans locked out, given the club is on track to record more than 60,000 members this year – 20,000 more than the Gabba’s capacity.

The Lions games will likely be restricted to members-only access, which stunts the development of the sport in the AFL’s critical growth market.

“It’s a real challenge if you get to a members only situation, because you are limiting your exposure to new people and new families and new participants,” Mr Swann said.

The opening match between the Brisbane Lions and the Carlton Blues at The Gabba earlier this month. Picture: Dylan Burns Getty Images

The Gabba tenants are grappling with an ageing roof, cracking in concrete, rusted and damaged structural beams and a variety of other end-of-life infrastructure.

But Mr Swann said the “real problem” was the lack of access for disabled sports fans.

“That’s definitely an issue for us and something we’ve grappled with a lot,” he said.

“It’s hard for those who have a disability and for children especially to get down to the fence and high-five their heroes.”

Mr Swann said the powerful franchise has looked longingly at interstate rivals who have had brand new stadiums built, most recently in Geelong, Perth and Adelaide.

“We just played in Perth and I’ve just come back from that stadium and when you see what’s happened around that precinct – it’s in a parkland, it’s got mini golf, it’s got zip lines, it’s got playgrounds and people everywhere.

“You envisage that that’s what you could do at Victoria Park – we got excited when we heard the report was going to drop that way but that was pretty short lived.”