New facilities in Springfield. Update: all systems go!

[jonnobackpocket]

*of. Dear set jump at shadows some of you.

 

[X AE A12]

*of. Dear set jump at shadows some of you.

Thank you for fixing that, it was the last straw for me

 

[pulpdriver]

Now the club is losing players because they have to drive 20 minutes. What an utter load is sh$t.

tbh it's the club's own fault for underestimating the 20 minute go home factor.

 

[Dylan12]

The whole thing is a disaster. Yes, its only a 25 minute drive, but its never really that. Anyone who actually lives in Brisbane knows that. Secondly, the public transport route (currently) is disastrous. And even if we ignore all of that: they can't even get this thing completed on time even knowing that the construction industry was one of the least affected industries relating to covid - which by the way hasn't been a hindrance since late April. The whole project has been a disaster from the moment it was announced and unless the Queensland government fashions up some amazing transport service that takes us directly there, no one in the city will even care to go there.

My gripe is that given the AFL has kicked in a lot of money to other club's new training facilities that they haven't added more to the project given the Queensland Government saved their arses this year as a sign of goodwill to further stimulate the Queensland economy as a thank you.

 

[Viceregal]

I'm looking at train routes, and the quickest time i'm getting is a 1 hour public transport commute.

That's actually a pretty awesome commute time from Europe!

Or ...
- if you are still in Brisbane are you comparing the commute for the players or yourself and if yourself is it 1 hour longer than it would take you to get to the various training venues or 1 hour total.
- If you are doing it on behalf of the players what addresses are you using for their start location (you can be living in Murrarie and 100m from the station or a fair bit further away) and how many of them are currently catching pubic transport to the existing training locations and how long does it take them to get to those and back?
- If you are doing it on your behalf - how many training sessions do you attend each week (if you don't go to training then it is moot unless you are a fan of AFLW games as the normal AFL is still being played at the 'Gabba.)

 

[Section 5]

All i see happening is the well paid players possibly selling up in the Bulimba, Balmoral, Hawthorne & Coorparoo area.
Then purchase in some other suburbs like St Lucia, Indooroopilly, Fig Tree Pocket, Chelmer , Graceville
If they are nearing the end of career they most likely stay put.
A bit harder if you have children at school but life could be a lot harder than travelling more to work

New players to the Club will make a decision on their residence at the time they sign up with the Lions
For the less well off players lots of places on that side of Brisbane to move to that is somewhere between The Gabba and Springfield

Hardly any supporters go to training
Don't think crowd numbers will affect the men's preseason games or the AFLW competition. Can't be any worse than Burpengary or South Pine Sports Complex

 

[a mayes ing]

I assume some are nervous due to the scneraio that happened at St Kilda. how long did it take them to get to their training ground roughly. Is it the same as 20 mins or significantly longer?

 

[Dylan12]

I assume some are nervous due to the scneraio that happened at St Kilda.

The move from Moorabbin to Seaford is a little further than Brisbane to Springfield by about 10km. We can only hope that the fallout is nothing like St Kilda's or even Hawthorn's proposed move to Dingley. I don't know Springfield from a bar of soap, but what I do know from speaking to David Noble ironically some years back is that the club was fairly confident that it had the advantage that Springfield Mall was only next door and packed with cafe's, restaurants, movie theatres etc. that the players could stroll to during breaks etc. The difference being the Saints players had nowhere to go in Seaford as the venue is literally on the side of the freeway that leads to the Mornington Peninsula in the middle of nowhere.

As an aside, most of the Saints players live in Bayside i.e. Brighton, Hampton, Sandringham, Black Rock, Beaumaris, which was only a 5-8 min drive to Moorabbin where they are now going back to, which from memory is not too dissimilar to the Lions boys living in and around Morningside, Hawthorne, New Farm, Bulimba to the Gabba. On the surface the relocation to Springfield shouldn't be an issue, but if what Mighty Lions is true, and there is no reason why he'd make up such a thing, then there is cause for concern and simply dismissing such a concern is pretty naïve.

 

[Hollow Knight]

If my commute got a little longer and inconvenient, the only thing to do would be to send a message to my employer by totally uprooting and inconveniencing myself by moving interstate.

 

[pulpdriver]

If my commute got a little longer and inconvenient, the only thing to do would be to send a message to my employer by totally uprooting and inconveniencing myself by moving interstate.

Some remote commuties in WA are screaming out for someone like you and the government is actually paying out pretty well.

JUMP

 

[JasRulz63]

Nick Riewoldt says St Kilda’s move to Seaford ‘crushed’ the playing group

How big Seaford switch left Saints ‘crushed’

www.foxsports.com.au

Riewoldt said the playing group had experienced a tough time at Seaford.

“I’ve heard the last couple of days now that we’re out of Seaford, everyone saying what a great facility it was for us along the journey,” he said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.

“I mean, that’s rubbish. That’s spin.

“Because it wasn’t a world-class facility and geographically it was tough for the players.”

It feels like the issues St. Kilda had with Seaford went beyond the location alone. It didn't sound like the facilities were a significant leap ahead to help justify the move, not to mention they could've stayed and upgraded their existing facilities at the time if it wasn't for a dispute with the council. For us, the facilities will be a significant upgrade.

Given the haphazard nature of our current training facilities, especially over the pre-season, I don't think there's the same connection to our training facilities that St. Kilda seemed to have.

Interestingly, I think our move is probably more similar to the Fremantle move to Cockburn, who also moved their facilities 20-25 minutes out of town for space reasons.

 

[jackess]

Does anyone expect that all players are looking forward to it? All 42 or however many there are?

I don’t see the shock in Mighty Lions comments.

 

[mpal6]

A lot of players have re-signed and come via trade in the last couple of years knowing this project was underway. Just because someone claims the players aren’t happy doesn’t make it so.

Second this, highest recontracted player list out of all clubs this off season. Winning will mask over all of these minor concerns.

If we keep playing finals and growing for the next 5 years, this commute will look like fun.

 

[Quigley]

All i see happening is the well paid players possibly selling up in the Bulimba, Balmoral, Hawthorne & Coorparoo area.
Then purchase in some other suburbs like St Lucia, Indooroopilly, Fig Tree Pocket, Chelmer , Graceville
If they are nearing the end of career they most likely stay put.
A bit harder if you have children at school but life could be a lot harder than travelling more to work

New players to the Club will make a decision on their residence at the time they sign up with the Lions
For the less well off players lots of places on that side of Brisbane to move to that is somewhere between The Gabba and Springfield

Hardly any supporters go to training
Don't think crowd numbers will affect the men's preseason games or the AFLW competition. Can't be any worse than Burpengary or South Pine Sports Complex

People are always going to be annoyed with change and being inconvenienced. And the current players with established homes are going to be inconvenienced and not really look forward to the move. It is totally understandable.

What you said though is absolutely true. There is a lot of nice suburbs that are close and there is a lot of student accommodation which will probably suit new young players very nicely. The new kids are also probably likely to enjoy living around the UQ area with the younger demographic and the energy that comes with that. Public transport from Indooroopilly into the city is very good for going out and getting to games.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

There's not many that are looking forward to the completion of this complex. (player wise)

There's not many workplaces that embrace change as a positive initially, especially when it comes to work location. I've been involved in a few shifts and in all cases the majority were not keen on the move beforehand, but years on view it as a positive.

Nearly all the players live in the inner eastern suburbs and are used to a nice cushy commute 5 minute commute to work. Players will either learn to put up with the longer commute or move to new digs closer to.

The Seaford analogy is not all that analogous as it might seem. If a Saints player truly was unhappy with the club's location and it was a reason to leave, they had another 8 Melbourne-based clubs to choose from that all had bases closer in to the city. If a Lions player felt the same and it was a catalyst for a move, they'd have to sell their house, pack everything up and move anyway.

But, y'know, by all means, for those who are pre-disposed to, recommence the hand-wringing and pearl-clutching.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Driving to Springfield in the morning is only 23 minutes from Yeronga. And if they don't like commuting, Springfield Lakes is a nice suburb to live in too.

 

[Mighty Lions]

A lot of players have re-signed and come via trade in the last couple of years knowing this project was underway. Just because someone claims the players aren’t happy doesn’t make it so.

And further to you post above, just because some of the players/coach's are not happy with the new facility location, I've not heard any talk about players/coach's not wanting to play for the Lions. Anyone who thinks that needs to calm the farm. Like some posters have said....once they get into a routine of commuting to & from the facility, I am sure everyone will appreciate the "state of the art" training facility they will have instead of the outdated places they use now.
Just for the record, Bulimba/Morningside (where most of the players/coach's live) is a 45 kilometer trip via the M5 and if i did the trip now, google maps tells me it will take 43 minutes.

 

[Tassie4ever]

The whole thing is a disaster. Yes, its only a 25 minute drive, but its never really that. Anyone who actually lives in Brisbane knows that. Secondly, the public transport route (currently) is disastrous. And even if we ignore all of that: they can't even get this thing completed on time even knowing that the construction industry was one of the least affected industries relating to covid - which by the way hasn't been a hindrance since late April. The whole project has been a disaster from the moment it was announced and unless the Queensland government fashions up some amazing transport service that takes us directly there, no one in the city will even care to go there.

Now: reading that the players don't even like it makes this decision even more absurd. It is too late to cancel the project? Maybe find something closer to the city?

Most of the absolute crap written here is easy enough to ignore, but this takes the cake.

There is a BRAND NEW RAILWAY STATION literally adjoining the facility. Just how is this "disastrous".

 

[irel]

Most of the absolute crap written here is easy enough to ignore, but this takes the cake.

There is a BRAND NEW RAILWAY STATION literally adjoining the facility. Just how is this "disastrous".

It is if you're trying to catch the London to Springfield Monorail.

 

[Brett C]

The whole thing is a disaster. Yes, its only a 25 minute drive, but its never really that. Anyone who actually lives in Brisbane knows that. Secondly, the public transport route (currently) is disastrous. And even if we ignore all of that: they can't even get this thing completed on time even knowing that the construction industry was one of the least affected industries relating to covid - which by the way hasn't been a hindrance since late April. The whole project has been a disaster from the moment it was announced and unless the Queensland government fashions up some amazing transport service that takes us directly there, no one in the city will even care to go there.

Now: reading that the players don't even like it makes this decision even more absurd. It is too late to cancel the project? Maybe find something closer to the city?

Seeing as you'll be in Europe with your "girlfriend" you'll be saved from the abject stupidity of the club.

Just a couple of small points, lots of supporters probably live closer to The Reserve than they do the Gabba or the current training venues.

Until a couple of weeks ago I lived approx. 25kms from the Gabba and depending on traffic it could take an hour to drive to games. Did that dissuade me from attending games no it didn't, approx the same distance and time to get to work each day.

If you're going to fly off the deep end at least be slightly educated about some keys facts such $100's of millions investment in the transport corridor in the western suburbs including significant upgrades to the train line and new stations. Just because the construction industry hasn't been as heavily impacted as other industries as COVID doesn't mean you can just speed up the project when there are a number of other factors at play including related works that need to be completed in conjuntion with The Reserve.

Below is from the clubs website around the facilities for the players and some pretty important factors such as such as growth in the academy that also factor into it. Unless we had a billionaire willing to fund the same project at Coorparoo it was never going to happen close to the CBD.

Brighton Homes Arena: Football

The official AFL website of the Brisbane Lions Football Club

www.lions.com.au

 

[knaf]

I‘ve managed a couple of office relocation. Staff were always initially apprehensive at the news of the move and some were clearly disadvantaged. So not surprised by the initial post regarding concerns

I would expect a club as well run as the Lions to manage the change proactively to minimise concerns. I guess there maybe one or two issues that won’t be able to be resolved, but i can’t see it leading to major retention issues

 

[Maboo]

The whole thing is a disaster. Yes, its only a 25 minute drive, but its never really that. Anyone who actually lives in Brisbane knows that. Secondly, the public transport route (currently) is disastrous. And even if we ignore all of that: they can't even get this thing completed on time even knowing that the construction industry was one of the least affected industries relating to covid - which by the way hasn't been a hindrance since late April. The whole project has been a disaster from the moment it was announced and unless the Queensland government fashions up some amazing transport service that takes us directly there, no one in the city will even care to go there.

Now: reading that the players don't even like it makes this decision even more absurd. It is too late to cancel the project? Maybe find something closer to the city?

Disaster, I hardly think so. This project is much more important, than some schoolboy whining about the time it will take to commute to training. Things to consider are AFLW, high performance and rehab, pool and purpose built admin to name a few.
Everyone is well aware THERE IS NOWHERE CLOSER TO THE CITY.

Oh, and the Hovercraft and Uber air service is sure to follow.

 

[briztoon]

I find it interesting that everyone is focused on the commute out to the venue.

If I was a player, that wouldn’t be my number one concern.

My main gripe would be the difference in temperature between Yeronga and Springfield Lakes during summer.

Now I haven’t been out there yet, but I sure as heck know there’s a difference in temperature between the Eastern Suburbs and Ipswich, and it can be significant in summer.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

I find it interesting that everyone is focused on the commute out to the venue.

If I was a player, that wouldn’t be my number one concern.

My main gripe would be the difference in temperature between Yeronga and Springfield Lakes during summer.

Now I haven’t been out there yet, but I sure as heck know there’s a difference in temperature between the Eastern Suburbs and Ipswich, and it can be significant in summer.

The temperature will be higher, but it should be mitigated somewhat by the creek next door to the grounds.

 

[PattyKwasagun]

The temperature will be higher, but it should be mitigated somewhat by the creek next door to the grounds.

And the fact that players will be able to go into air conditioned change rooms right after training. Don't have that luxury at Coorparoo.