Lions face prospect of empty stadiums

LIONS chairman Andrew Wellington does not know if Brisbane will be forced to play home games at an empty Gabba due to the coronavirus.

But he is certain that the No.1 priority for the club is the health of its players, coaches, staff, sponsors and supporters.

Brisbane launched their AFL season at Southbank on Wednesday night when guests were given hand sanitiser on entry and asked to adhere to a “no handshake” policy as part of the club following the Department of Health’s Prevention of Spread of Infectious Diseases guidelines.

Guests were also asked to wash their hands regularly and cover their mouths when they coughed or sneezed.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan flagged on Tuesday the prospect of matches being played in front of empty stadiums in Melbourne “if mass gatherings are suspended” by the Victorian Government.

Wellington attended the meetings with fellow club bosses in Melbourne on Tuesday when they were briefed about coronavirus contingencies. He said the coronavirus issue was “fluid” with constant updates changing the landscape.

“The Victorian Premier (Daniel Andrews) seems to be indicating there’s an expectation that at some point they might be restricting large gatherings of people. They just don’t know when,’’ Wellington said. “We don’t know if that will be necessary here or not. We’ll deal with it if we have to.

“We, like other organisations, will have to sit down with Stadiums Queensland and talk to them and get their perspective about what are some of the measures that we should be putting in place.

“I’m sure we’ll be talking to the government about what their intentions and plans are. But they will be like everyone else and having to deal with things as they arise.

“The governments have their experts looking into this and we’ll take the advice.’’