New figures released by the Brisbane Lions show the first full year of operations at Brighton Homes Arena has seen more than 316,000 visitations to the club’s new training and administrative precinct.
The $82 million venue, designed as an open and accessible campus, is hosting a variety of community sport, programs and corporate events when not in use for elite AFL and AFLW training and matches.
Brisbane Lions Chief Executive, Greg Swann said the Lions move to Springfield has opened the club up to the growing western corridor which the Lions will target to grow their fan base for years to come.
“We’re really pleased with the move to Brighton Homes Arena and the new opportunities it is presenting the club. We wanted to open the site up to as many people as possible and create an asset that can be used by the wider community and these numbers show we’re doing exactly that.
“Last season our AFLW team won the Premiership and our crowds were in the top three across the competition, our partnership with Total Fusion is developing with gym memberships now over 3,500 since opening.
“Every day we’re seeing kids playing basketball onsite or people running laps of the oval, AFL Queensland are using the venue as a base for staff to service the wider area and we’re speaking with other sports looking to do the same.
“To see the venue become a destination year-round, not just on game days, is a step in the right direction.
“From a design perspective, we’ve hosted international sporting delegations from China, Japan, USA, UK, Switzerland and PNG all who are visiting to see the club’s cutting-edge gender equal and community-centred design so our ability to increase our brand and build out our network of contacts across the sports industry is a real positive.
“We’re putting Ipswich and Springfield on the map.”
Swann said while the club was proud of the success of Brighton Homes Arena, plans were now underway to further develop the site with a childcare centre and more sporting facilities.
“We know access to greenspace across SEQ is a real challenge so we’re looking at how we further develop the precinct to deliver an MCG sized playing field which could be accessed by community users and jointly service the nearby Hymba Yumba Independent School.
“We’d like to build out more community sporting facilities including some hard-court surfaces to provide our Lions wheelchair AFL team with training and match courts while adding a childcare centre to the precinct to further cement our place in the local community.
“The results so far are a credit to our funding partners who helped realise the masterplan, including Ipswich City Council, and a credit to our hard-working staff who are dedicated to the future of the club,” Swann said.
The 2024 AFLW Season kicks off in the final week of August with an emphasis on crowd growth from last season where the Brisbane Lions already ranked in the top three for total attendance.
