The facility has been the permanent training and administrative home of professional Australian Football League (AFL) club the Brisbane Lions since 2022. The venue plays host to the club's AFL pre-season home practice matches as well as matches for the AFL Women's (AFLW), Victorian Football League (VFL) and the club's men's and women's Academy (junior) squad programs.
The City of Ipswich has a long association with Australian rules, with some of the earliest matches in the 1860s played there.[10]Ipswich Grammar School was the first school in Queensland to adopt football in 1868.[11] The senior Ipswich Football Club (1870-1940s) was the first senor football club based there, calling the North Ipswich Reserve home. Between 1870 and 1892 Ipswich was by far the stronghold of the code in the state. Interstate Australian rules contests between Queensland and New South Wales were also played at the North Ipswich Oval.[12][13] Even after the collapse of the Queensland Football Association in 1890 support for the code was stronger in Ipswich than anywhere else in the colony.[14] However following failed attempts to re-establish the code, it became a stronghold for rugby union followed by rugby league and soccer. Australian rules has seen a resurgence since the 1950s and 1960s, and current clubs date back to this time. In recent years, the western growth corridor had seen a boom in participation and it has produced professional players for the Brisbane Lions, including men's team players Rhan Hooper (played for the Ipswich Eagles) and Sean Yoshiura as well as AFLW team players Kate Lutkins and Dakota Davidson.
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 various suburban grounds. Over the years this has included the University of Queensland campus,[15] Leyshon Park in Yeronga,[16]Giffin Park in Coorparoo, Moreton Bay Central Sports Complex (MBCSC) in Burpengary, South Pine Sports Complex in Brendale 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 competition in 2017, it played home matches at MBCSC and Hickey Park in the north of Brisbane and later Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex on the Sunshine Coast.[17] The Lions considered the facilities on the northern corridor including the Sunshine Coast, Moreton and Brendale as permanent homes but none were deemed suitable as AFL level facilities. Consequently the club sought to establish a permanent training and administrative base for the senior men's team that could also host AFLW and reserves matches.
Selection and construction
As early as 2012, AFL Queensland CEO Michael Conlon flagged the code's ambition to establish a permanent presence in the western corridor, claiming that Ipswich would one day host AFL premiership matches.[18] Having evaluated various sites north of Brisbane along with greenfield sites near Brisbane Airport and sites in the southern corridor such as Springwood in 2018, the Brisbane Lions settled on vacant land in Springfield. $70 million was the initial estimate for the cost of construction, with the final cost being $82.1 million.[19][20] 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 earthworks and preliminary construction of the facility to commence later that year.[21] The facility had a working title of The Reserve Community Arena at Springfield.[3] Major construction commenced in March 2020[22][23][24] and the club moved into the facility upon its completion in October 2022.[19][25] The Brisbane Lions signed a 99-year lease on the facility.[26]
Design features
The design incorporated themes from the Fitzroy Football Club (part of the Brisbane Lions merger), the main grandstand pays homage to the red brick main stand of Fitzroy's old home ground the Brunswick Street Oval with its central double stair, red brick base and low pitch roof.[23] A large depiction of the traditional Fitzroy Lion motif in pixel art decorates the facade near the main entrance. The design also makes reference to Ipswich, its traditional red brick and Queenslander architecture with its large open balconies.[23]
The first match played at the venue was the AFL Women's season seven Grand Final (2022) between Brisbane and Melbourne[27] which attracted a sell-out crowd of 7,412. The first men's AFL match at the venue, a 2023 pre-season practice match between the Brisbane Lions and the previous year's premiers Geelong also attracted a sell out crowd[28] but with an official attendance of 4,500.[29] Attendances have not been published for VFL men's matches, however AFLW and AFL attendances averaged 3,211 during the 2023 AFLW Season.[30]
Facilities
Main grandstand
Springfield Central Stadium's initial capacity was estimated at up to 10,000 however upon opening the official capacity was downgraded to 8,000. There are several rows of bleacher seating around the perimeter, administration and indoor training buildings, a grandstand with seating for 650 spectators, a balcony extending across the two clubhouse buildings, grassed slopes, four light towers and a scoreboard.[21] Other spectator facilities include a bar, a cafe and a club merchandise outlet.
A second and smaller oval is under construction as of June 2023, positioned on the opposite side of Eden Station Drive.[19][1]
The broader precinct encompasses training and administration facilities catering for the men's and women's elite players, such as a high-performance gymnasium, extensive learning and teaching facilities, lap pool, aquatic recovery pools, and a cafe and other spaces for community use.[31][32]
Naming rights
In May 2021, the Brisbane Lions announced that Springfield Central Stadium would be known for commercial purposes as Brighton Homes Arena, in a deal signed with home construction company Brighton Homes.[33] The main oval's playing surface has been named the Michael Voss Oval, in recognition of the club's triple-premiership men's captain.[34]
^The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939) View title info Sat 1 Jul 1876
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^Bird, Murray; Parker, Greg (2018). More of the Kangaroo: 150 Years of Australian Football in Queensland - 1866 to 2016. Morningside, Qld. p. 7. ISBN978-0-9943936-1-6. OCLC1082363978.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
