Brisbane Lions’ grand final win and membership surge trigger new calls for worthy stadium

The Brisbane Lions are on the cusp of becoming the next great AFL dynasty – with 75 per cent of their home games selling out this season – but the club’s explosive growth is at risk of ruin by the state government’s refusal to provide a suitable stadium.

The Brisbane Lions are on the cusp of becoming the next great AFL dynasty but the club’s explosive growth is at risk of ruin by the state government’s refusal to provide a suitable stage to shine.

The Pride of Queensland is the toast of the AFL world after smashing the Sydney Swans by 60 points in Saturday’s grand final, and experts predict it is just the beginning of a period of dominance.

It has prompted renewed calls for the city to get a world-class stadium for the growing code that can double as Brisbane’s athletics venue for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner used the Lions’ win to reiterate calls for the games to “deliver a lasting legacy” for the city and state.

“I’m a strong believer that Brisbane teams should be able to play in Brisbane and clearly, there’s growing demand to watch the Brisbane Lions play in our city,” he said.

“While decisions about stadiums will be a matter for the new independent authority, I’m confident the future of our sporting teams will be considered alongside community and transport benefits.

“After all, there’s not much point investing in a venue if spectators, officials and athletes can’t get there.”

Will Ashcroft (L) and Jaspa Fletcher of the Lions pose with the 2024 AFL Premiership Trophy after winning the AFL Grand Final. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/Getty Images)

The Lions are expected to be even better in 2025.

Not since Leigh Matthews and Michael Voss led the Lions to three consecutive premierships in the early 2000s has the club had such a strong competitive foundation.

Off-field, the Lions have never been bigger.

At the start of September, the club revealed a record 63,268 members for the 2024 season – a 15.7 per cent increase on 2023 and staggering 116 per cent growth since 2020.

More than 375,000 fans moved through the turnstiles at the Gabba this year – the most in 20 years.

Nine of the 12 Gabba home games were sellouts, up from seven in 2023.

The Gabba capacity on AFL game days is a touch under 37,500.

Half of all paying Brisbane Lions members could still be unable to secure a seat at the Gabba from next season, but seats are tipped to become more scarce as their popularity grows.

Nine out of the Lions’ 12 home games were sellouts. (Photo by Jono Searle/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

“We need a new stadium,” Lions CEO Greg Swann told the Courier-Mail in August.

“We’ve gone through 62,000 members. The game is growing like crazy. We’ve gone past South Australia in participation and I reckon within five years we’ll go past Western Australia. We’ll have the second-most participants after Victoria, so the game is growing and growing.

“For this club to get where it should be we need a stadium … if they built one that had 55,000 capacity I think we could fill it and that would be great for the club and code.”

Premier Steven Miles favours using the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre at Nathan while Opposition Leader David Crisafulli, who is on track to become premier, will rely on an infrastructure review to inform his position.

While he has not officially ruled out scrapping the government’s current plan to upgrade the QSAC stadium for $1.6bn, he has also refused to be drawn on which alternative venue should become Brisbane’s main stage.

He has ruled out a stadium at Victoria Park but not commented on returning to the planned demolition and rebuild of the Gabba.

Mr Crisafulli, asked whether the Brisbane Lions deserved a new home stadium after winning the AFL premiership at the weekend, hinted that additional funding for the Games was on the cards.

“Part of the reason why Queenslanders are so frustrated with the Premier’s kneejerk QSAC option is it doesn’t build resilience into the future,” he said.

In 2020 the Lions ranked 17th on the AFL membership ladder.

This year they were 12th, surpassing established Victorian clubs Western Bulldogs, St Kilda and North Melbourne, and next year could jump into the top 10 ahead of Melbourne and Port Adelaide.