To our Lions family,

As promised, we will continue to keep you updated as changes to the Club’s operations eventuate whilst we work through this world health crisis as a business.

At the present time, due to the limitations imposed by the Federal Government to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus, we are temporarily unable to operate in a normal manner. This has led to the stoppage of the vast proportion of work previously carried out by our employees. On this note, the Club thanks you for your ongoing support and patience.

Impact on the Brisbane Lions workforce

This week, we made the difficult decision to stand down 90% of our workforce at until at least 31 May 2020 per the AFL’s shutdown period. We are simply unable to continue our normal business operations in this environment. This decision was made in response to the unexpected stoppage of work and inability for the League to play games, with or without a crowd, for this period.

We remain committed to looking after our staff – both during this difficult period and beyond – and will continue to be available to work with them to find temporary jobs or financial assistance that will help them navigate this period. 

These employees are wonderful people that we do not want to lose. We hope to bring as many of them as possible back on board when conditions improve. They are being stood-down out of necessity, not removed from our business permanently. We are proactively working to assist our people as best we can during this challenging time.

Those that remain are working on reduced hours and salaries to ensure that the critical tasks of the Club can continue in this time, to them we say thank you.

How will this affect your dealings with the Club and MemberHQ

In light of the current constraints, the Club is operating with a skeleton staff across Membership, Corporate and Communications. During this time, it is our priority to continue to communicate and service our Club Members and Partners as best we can.

MemberHQ is still in operation, albeit with a vastly reduced staff and hours, and our online channels will remain open and relevant – please feel free to reach out at any point through either of these channels and we will do our best to respond to you in a timely fashion.

The Lions Shop is also still operating in an online-only capacity should you want to support the Club through the purchase of merchandise during this time.

Please also note that LIONS@springwood will be closed during this time.

What does this mean for your 2020 Membership?

For our members, we are currently working through a range of options for you to consider for your membership contributions this year.

We understand that this is a really tough time for all and so getting this right for everyone is critical.

The options for your membership in 2020 will be communicated in the very near future and our team will be on call to assist you as quickly and efficiently as we possibly can.

What are the players new arrangements?

As indicated, our players have been sent home along with all but a handful of football staff for a minimum of 30 days. The message to our players is the same as it is for everyone. The first priority is their health and helping their families and others close to them through this difficult time.

The players all have individual fitness and nutrition plans to ensure they remain in appropriate physical condition should the situation change and the AFL and Australian Government indicate that we can return to playing football.

The Club is also providing access to Club psychologists and wellbeing staff during this time, this access is also available to all Club staff members.

The AFL is reviewing its season suspension in late April and we will review our football operations again at this point and the remainder of our operation in early May.

Our management and our people are determined to ensure the Club overcomes the significant challenges that it currently faces and, with the support of our community, we hope to be ready when conditions eventually normalise.

Thank you once again for supporting our Club through what is undoubtedly one of the most unprecedented challenges in its history. We are incredibly grateful to our Members and Partners who share our passion for football.

We will continue to communicate and update you on our next steps over the coming weeks and months.­­