Brisbane Lions temporary new home during Gabba Olympic redevelopment down to Springfield or RNA Showgrounds

The boss of the Brisbane Lions says a temporary home-ground for the team could be locked in as early as next month, and the team will either move to one of two locations while the Gabba is redeveloped.

The boss of the Brisbane Lions says a temporary home-ground for the team could be locked in as early as next month, and the team will either move to Springfield or the RNA Showgrounds while the Gabba is redeveloped.

But with more than 50,000 members and games at the Gabba regularly selling out, chief executive Greg Swann says either option would still likely fall well short of their ideal ground capacity.

Mr Swann said on Friday the choice had been narrowed down to two options, and while he would like to have a decision by the end of the year, it could come as early as “September or October”.

“Hopefully we can get that sorted in the next month or so,” he said.

Jaspa Fletcher of the Lions enters the field during the Round 17 match between the Brisbane Lions and the West Coast Eagles at The Gabba on July 8.

Asked what the priority was, Mr Swann said he would like to see as many fans still able to watch the games.

“The more (fans) the merrier we can get in. Now that we’ve got 50,000-plus members and we’re selling out the Gabba, wherever we go we’d like to still try and do that,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the choices will be that at a max we’re going to have 20,000 to 24,000 (people) whatever ground we play out – that’s just the capacity, they’re landlocked or there’s not enough room.

“So that’s going to be a challenge for us to have a limited number of people to come and watch the game.

“But there’s been fruitful discussions and hopefully we can get there.”

Speculation has been rife about where the Lions will end up during the four-year redevelopment, with Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner pushing for the RNA, while Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding wants to see the Lions in Springfield at Brighton Homes Arena.

The Gabba.

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding officially opens the new Brighton Homes Arena at Springfield. Picture: Liam Kidston

Asked about needing to leave the Gabba while it is completely knocked down and rebuilt at a cost of $2.7b, Mr Swann admitted it was “certainly not ideal”.

“We’ll be out of the Gabba for four years,” he said. “But the upside is we go back into a 55,000 seat stadium.”

Stadiums Queensland chief executive Todd Harris told a parliamentary budget estimates SQ had prepared an “an options analysis” on where the Lions and Queensland Cricket should play during the four years.

He said multiple options were considered including the Brisbane RNA showgrounds, Brighton Homes Arena, Heritage Bank Stadium and the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre – noting a sense of “urgency” in locking in a solution.

“If it is decided to upgrade a Brisbane venue to host AFL and cricket during the Gabba redevelopment period, urgency and decision of approvals is required to enable works to be completed in readiness for the beginning of the 2026 AFL season,” he said.

Brisbane Lions CEO Greg Swann is seen during a tour of Brighton Homes Arena on November 21, 2022 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

“The scope of our work focused on the capital requirements to bring venues up to standard, balancing the needs and meeting expectations of stakeholders for contemporary stadiums and financial modelling to estimate the operating impact of each of the options on the two key hirers and the key non-financial considerations such as fan experience, transport, operational ease and challenges, and legacy outcomes.

“The owners and operators of the venues – the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland, the Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns – and the two key hirers, the Brisbane Lions and Queensland Cricket, and their governing bodies, AFL and Cricket Australia, provided input into our analysis.”

The analysis has now been provided to the state government.

Originally published as Brisbane Lions temporary new home during Gabba Olympic redevelopment down to Springfield or RNA Showgrounds