THE BRISBANE Lions expect their move to a new training and administration base to be confirmed by season’s end.
Speaking on Thursday, Lions CEO Greg Swann said the club’s move to Springfield, west of Brisbane, was almost complete.
With a commitment from the Ipswich City Council and funding from the AFL, Swann said the Lions were waiting on submissions to the Queensland government.
"We’ve got a commitment, we will be going to Springfield," Swann said.
"We’ve got a commitment from the council there, we’ve got some submissions in with the state government we hope are being reviewed in the next month.
"Hopefully we’ll have an announcement before the end of the season about how it’ll all work."
The new facility will include a 10-15,000-seat boutique stadium, which will host matches for the Lions’ AFLW team.
When the move to Springfield initially stalled four years ago, Swann described the chase for a new training and administration base as a "stone in our shoe".
"Sometimes these things take time," he said.
"Ultimately it’s about funding because we don’t have spare cash flying around.
"We need assistance from councils and governments and at this stage it’s looking really positive."
Standing alongside coach Chris Fagan at the launch of a partnership with the Institute for Urban Indigneous Health’s Deadly Choices Program, Swann said he was delighted with the club’s on-field progress this season, despite winning just three games.
"I said earlier in the season, we’d lost nine games in a row, but it was the happiest club I’d been in.
"There was no whinging and bitching and finger-pointing because we knew we were gradually getting better and the results would come.
"There’s a real excitement about it and with six games to go, we think we’re really improving and hopefully these next six games set us up to go into next year really looking to make a significant improvement and rise up the ladder."
Swann said any consideration for applying for a priority pick would only come once the season had finished.
