The Reserve, Springfield

Since its creation as an amalgamated team in 1996, the Brisbane Lions have always trained at the 42,000-seat Gabba during the football season, which is the senior men's team home ground. During the off-season the Lions usually shifted training sessions to grounds in Coorparoo and elsewhere, meaning the club lacked a dedicated and permanent home year-round. When the club entered a women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition in 2017, it played home matches in Burpengary in the north of Brisbane.[2] Consequently the club sought to establish a permanent training and administrative base for the senior men's team that could also host AFLW and NEAFL matches.

In 2018, the club settled on vacant land in Springfield. A total of $70 million was required for construction of the facility. The Lions and the AFL contributed $10m, Ipswich Council $12m, Springfield Land Corporation $18m and the Queensland Government $15m. The final $15m stream of funding was secured from the Federal Government in late January 2019, allowing construction of the facility to commence later that year.[3] The venue is expected to be completed in mid-to-late 2021.[4]

The Reserve's main oval will have a capacity of up to 10,000, with several rows of seating around the perimeter, an administration building which includes grandstand seating for 1,000 and balconies surrounding half the ground, grass hill at the other end, four light towers and a scoreboard.[3] A second and smaller oval located directly across the main oval will also be incorporated for use by the Lions.[1]

The broader precinct will encompass training and administration facilities catering for the men's and women's elite players, such as a high-performance gymnasium, state of the art learning and teaching facilities, lap pool, aquatic recovery pools, and a cafe and other spaces for community use.[5][6]

• Official site