Springfield is roaring with Lions pride!
It’s time to dust off your guernsey, renew your memberships and revel in a sense of civic pride now that the Brighton Homes Arena in Springfield is officially open!
The Arena, which can facilitate up to 10,000 spectators, is set to be the new home of the Lions’ AFLW team and training centre for the men's team.
There’s plenty of other exciting inclusions to boot, including a TotalFusion gym, public café and much, much more.
With the AFLW season just around the corner, kicking off on March 25, we thought it was the perfect time to explore everything on offer at the newly opened Brighton Homes Arena.
Designed with the local community in mind
Image Credit: TotalFusion Lions
Brighton Homes Arena is more than just a place for elite athletes to train and play AFL – it's a place for the community to come together to exercise, catch up over a cup of coffee, or utilise the meeting rooms and function spaces on offer.
Deliberately designed to distribute people around the grounds rather than have them sit in the one spot, spectators have the space to sprawl out and enjoy the game on their own terms, with plenty of lawn, stadium and standing spaces.
Arguably one of the most exciting additions to the space is the opening of TotalFusion Lions – a state-of-the-art health and fitness facility that boasts amenities such as:
- A gym floor
- Five group fitness studios
- A lap pool
- Recovery services
- Reformer pilates
- Toga
- HIIT
- Boxing
- Functional training
- Hot and cold plunge pools
- Saunas
The Brisbane Lions also allow a refugee organisation a free office space on site.
Paying homage to history
The Lendlease Springfield Rise team was lucky enough to participate in a tour of the stadium during the construction process, led by Jacob Anson, General Manager - Infrastructure, Strategy & Government Relations for the Brisbane Lions.
During this tour, Jacob pointed out certain design features that pay homage to the history of the game. One such feature is the striking red brick used throughout the sports complex, which ties back to the industrial heritage of both Fitzroy (where the club originated before moving to Brisbane) and Ipswich. There are also elements of a traditional Queenslander family home weaved throughout the complex, with high ceilings and wide verandas.
The interior of the club is also painted maroon and blue to represent the colours in the iconic guernsey that players still wear today.
In an additional special feature, the grounds feature artwork from local indigenous artist and Goreng Goreng woman, Rachael Sarra. See below for imagery of her artwork, which incorporates the Brisbane Lions Club Colours – red, blue and yellow.
Image Credit: Brick N Pave
A first for AFL
The $82.1 million Brighton Homes Arena allows all Lions’ staff and teams to be under the one roof, including men’s, women’s and Academy players.
Brighton Homes Arena has been designed to garner the best performance out of the athletes that train and play there. An indoor oval has been built for protection from Queensland’s harsh sun, which also guarantees that the players have somewhere to train during wet weather events. There are even training cameras in the ceiling to track data and performance from the players.
Deliberately designed to distribute people around the grounds rather than have them sit in the one spot (e.g. lawn space, stadium space, standing space)
Springfield was the obvious choice for a world-class AFL stadium
With proximity to heavy rail, nearby road networks and space for a large carpark, Springfield was the obvious location for the Brisbane Lions to develop a new home for the Lions’ AFLW team, and training centre for the men's team.
You can find Brighton Homes Arena at 87 Springfield Greenbank Arterial, Springfield.