IT HAS a long way to go, but Brisbane Lions CEO Greg Swann believes the club has started the long road back to financial self-sufficiency.

 

After recently posting a net operating loss of $3.5 million for the past financial year – taking the club's debt towards $10 million – Swann said it was time to stop the rot.

 

Speaking at the Lions’ Annual General Meeting at the Gabba on Wednesday night, he said things were beginning to turn.

 

 

Membership numbers are 3000 higher than the same time last year, corporate box figures are up, and the club has just added Flight Centre to its sponsorship portfolio.

 

Swann said the long-term goal was to get out of debt and stop relying on the AFL for financial assistance.

 

"Everybody's mindful, we just can't keep losing money. We want to run a successful business," he told the assembled members.

 

"We want to get out from under the AFL and become self-sufficient. 

 

"That's going to take time, but the indications are we're heading in the right direction."

 

Swann said the Lions had saved themselves "to death" and it was time to grow revenue and invest back into a football department that spent $2 million less than the average AFL club.

 

He said they were currently negotiating with a number of licensed premises around Brisbane in the hope of striking a joint financial venture that could bolster the club's coffers.

 

While the Lions are still considering a number of options for a new training and administration centre, Swann said they would be in no rush.

 

Another priority in early 2015, he said, was renegotiating the Gabba lease.