AFL to be impacted greatly: Lions chief

BRISBANE CEO Greg Swann says the coronavirus is the most challenging issue the AFL has faced in his 25 years as a top administrator and expects both the league and Lions to be “impacted greatly” by COVID-19.

The AFL is planning to proceed with Round 1 fixtures from this Thursday night with games to be played in empty stadiums until further notice. AFLW games are also being contested behind closed doors with only “essential” staff and officials present.

Brisbane is due to play Hawthorn at the MCG this Sunday with the Lions’ first home game at the Gabba scheduled for Saturday, March 28 when they will host North Melbourne in an AFL/AFLW double-header.

In a letter to Brisbane members, Swann – who has also served as Collingwood and Carlton CEO as well as being part of the Fitzroy administrators – said “to call these challenging times would be an understatement’’.

“In my 25 years working in football I can’t recall a time where the clubs and code have been challenged quite like this,’’ Swann said.

“We, like everyone else across the world, don’t yet know the full extent of the situation we will all need to face and work through together.

“While the directive from the AFL and government is that it is not possible for our supporters to attend games for the foreseeable future, we intend to work to find ways to give you (members) access to the team and club … albeit through very different channels.

“We understand and share your disappointment that the 2020 season we had all been eagerly anticipating is going to now look quite different.

“However we intend to follow government and expert advice.’’

Swann said Brisbane was taking extra precautions to protect the health and wellbeing of players, staff, members and fans.

“We will be working to minimise public exposure of staff and players including restricting access to our headquarters at the Gabba. Additional measures will be communicated over the coming days,’’ he said.

“We ask for your understanding, loyalty and patience as we navigate through what is an extremely fluid situation.

“The league and indeed our club are going to be impacted greatly but we have an exceptional group of people here at the Brisbane Lions and we are working hard to minimise the impact of this to you all.

“While there is so much uncertainty in what lies ahead, what I do know for sure is that the Brisbane Lions have been through many challenges throughout our history, and we’ve stuck together.

“And that’s what we’ll do here, we’ll get through this together.”

Brisbane posted their first profit in 12 years in 2019 when they finished $648,618 in the black after 272,153 spectators piled into the Gabba.

The Lions’ stunning surge up the ladder to qualify for the finals for the first time since 2009 helped hand the club a blockbuster 2020 fixture that would have been a major boost to its coffers.

Brisbane are set to host Collingwood on Easter Thursday (April 9).