The Brisbane Lions may be out of footy finals contention, but the club is celebrating the start of work at its new boutique training facility at Ipswich.
Ipswich City Council and the Lions have signed off on a tender consideration plan that will see “fit for purpose” works carried out at the Springfield Central site over coming months.
Council’s Coordination and Performance General Manager Sean Madigan presented a report to the Growth and Infrastructure Committee outlining the plan.
The Lions got the green light in August to start construction on the $70 million facility, which was secured with the financial support of council, the Federal and State Governments, Springfield City Group, the AFL and the club.
The Reserve – a complete regional sports and events precinct, available for community use – will essentially be owned by council and leased to the Lions.
Mr Madigan said as part of a heads of agreement, council committed to completing the “fit for purpose” works on the lot to enable the Lions to build the stadium and training facility.
“The fit for purpose works include bulk earthworks, drainage and a creek relocation to allow for the stadium to be built. The (agreement) specifies that the Lions will then build a stadium / training facility on the land which will include aspects of community usage. Council will then lease the facility to the Brisbane Lions on a 50-year lease with an option to extend for a further 49 years,” he said.
“Given that the fit for purpose works need to be suitable for the ultimate construction of the stadium, it is recommended that the Brisbane Lions are best placed to manage the project and engage the contractor for the fit for purposes works on behalf of Council.”
This initial work, to be carried out by BMD, will include a creek relocation, and is worth about $6 million.
Mr Madigan said it was essential the “fit for purpose” work was done before Christmas to ensure agreed timeframes, environmental consequences and costs.
The Reserve is expected to officially open in early 2021.
A secondary oval will be developed on the northern part of the property for use by community sporting clubs, which will also benefit from the other facilities, expected to include a high-performance gymnasium incorporating state-of-the-art learning and teaching facilities, 25m lap pool, aquatic recovery pools and sports medical infrastructure.
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>>>Way paved for Brisbane Lions to build stadium at Springfield Central