The Brisbane Lions have confirmed their new community arena in Springfield Central, dubbed The Reserve, is on target despite coronavirus concerns.
The announcement comes after funding for the facility – provided by Ipswich City Council, Federal and State Governments, Springfield City Group, the Australian Football League (AFL) and the Brisbane Lions – was deeded into a project account that is separate from the club’s football operations.
Brisbane Lions Infrastructure, Strategy and Government Relations general manager Jake Anson said the move ensured the project was not at risk and will proceed as planned as the AFL community wades through a period of uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The project has been almost a decade in planning and the club is excited to see it proceed during these difficult times,” Mr Anson said.
“It’s really positive news for our club, the local community and so many project stakeholders that the development will continue during the COVID-19 crisis.
“We are working with our provisional builders to establish workplace procedures and a project programme that factors in COVID-19.
“The Reserve project will provide several hundred construction jobs immediately, and upon completion it will significantly improve our club’s finances by reducing overheads and diversifying revenues.
“Moreover, it will give our players an elite high-performance training environment that is vastly superior to that they’ve had access to at the Gabba.”
Brisbane Lions have confirmed that construction of The Reserve arena in Springfield is not at risk and will proceed as planned, despite coronavirus concerns.
The final stages of negotiating a building contract for the training and support centre and the 10,000-capacity boutique stadium are now underway, after last week saw the first grass and trees planted at the site.
The remainder of the $6.5 million preliminary earthworks package, which involved the rerouting of Mountain Creek, the creation of building pads and spectator mounds and the shaping of the oval sub-base, will be completed this week.
The first grass and trees were planted last week to re-establish vegetation along the creek.
The Reserve will ultimately become the home of the Brisbane Lions AFL women’s team and will be utilised for pre-season and North East AFL men’s games.
It will also feature community education and meeting spaces, a café and aquatic facilities.
View a livestream of The Reserve’s construction here.
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