Each month on lions.com.au, the Brisbane Lions' Chairman Andrew Wellington will be answering the questions you have.

All members and fans are invited to submit any questions they have.

Send your questions through to askthechairman@lions.com.au and the best questions will be answered each month. 

William

My question is why is the public address loudspeakers turned up so high prior to the game and during quarter and halftime intervals they are so loud it makes conversation with other patrons difficult.

Hi William, 

We received a lot of feedback on the public address system being too loud earlier in the season, which resulted in it being reduced in volume. This seemed to resolve most of the complaints we had. 

The volume of the PA system depends on a number of factors, including how many people are in the stadium at a given time, as the system automatically adjusts. So if you are in a section that is relatively empty, but the rest of the stadium is full, you will find it too loud but other sections may find it too quiet. We don’t let the system go past a certain level.

If we continue to receive more feedback on the PA volume going forward, we will again look at decreasing it again.

Chris 

I strongly oppose the move to Springfield. In my view, the decision is based purely on financial reasons which can be a justification but logistically it makes no sense at all

The Club is the Brisbane Lions and Springfield is not in Brisbane. I have travelled out there regularly and to expect young players recruited from interstate to move to Brisbane and then drive out there for training and rehab is ridiculous. As a place to live it is not a location that will attract players. 

The travel time and the congestion at peak hour is a disaster. I will be contacting my local Federal MP and asking him to speak against it.

Have you investigated the vacant land on the corner of Compton and Kingston Roads at Underwood? This land is owned by the State Government and was earmarked for a Greyhound facility prior to the debacle in the greyhound industry. The area appears of a size suitable for a development and the location is ideal and close to the Social Club.

Chris, thanks for your question and input. Yes, we did consider the property you refer to, which of course is also not in the Brisbane City Council area, but is part of the Logan City Council. 

For a number of reasons including the potential for commercial partnerships, public transport access and the space available we considered the Springfield site a better option for us. We consulted with the playing and coaching group on the Springfield site and the consensus was it is an opportunity they strongly support us pursuing. Over time we expect staff, players and coaches may choose to live in suburbs that are closer to Springfield and reduce the transport time.   

Obviously, you are free to lobby your local MP as you see fit and I understand some of our members will have different views on Springfield and others will have preferred alternatives.  

However, I have to be honest and say I am disappointed that some of our members and supporters would actively work against an initiative that the Club Board, Executive, coaches and players strongly support. There is no ready alternative if we don’t pursue the Springfield option, a situation which would place pressure on our player retention strategy given the current requirement to train at different venues and our lack of a genuine home ground for our AFLW players.

Heather

My question or more appropriate is a request to the fixture for the Lions. I would like to the Lions to have more Saturday night or twilight games. Why? 

Because I am a full season member but live in Rockhampton which is 14hrs return drive away from the Gabba. If any members or other supporters who live anywhere north of Maryborough it is just too hard to attend day games especially on Sundays. This year there was just 4 games at this timeslot and I only managed to attend 3.

So this year's membership value was not met in my opinion. I have sent a similar email to AFL House/Fixture re the issues of rural  Lions members have in attending games. I hope that next year & in the year's to come as this team improves that we can all enjoy a great game on Saturday night. 

Thanks Heather, we agree the Sunday games can be a challenge and we would also prefer more Saturday night games. 

For example, we had requested that our final game against West Coast, which had been a floating fixture, be put on Saturday night.  Unfortunately, the AFL didn’t grant our request. 

We will be requesting more Saturday night games next season. While we are in the hands of the AFL and they, in turn, need to be mindful of the needs of their broadcast partners, we are hopeful that our improved performances this year, particularly at the Gabba, will result in more games in suitable timeslots. 

For example, we are hopeful to get an Easter Thursday fixture at the Gabba against a big club like Collingwood. I appreciate that may make it difficult to get from Rockhampton for that one, maybe pencil in Easter Thursday for a leave day?  It should be a good night if we can get that slot.

Thank you for your dedication in travelling to the Gabba from Rockhampton, it is much appreciated.  I hope for the three games you did get to you appreciated the roar that is starting to come back to the Gabba as we improve. It makes for a great experience.

All members and fans are invited to submit any questions they have.

Send your questions through to askthechairman@lions.com.au and the best questions will be answered each month.