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The Brisbane Bears were a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, now known as the Brisbane Lions. Granted a Victorian Football League (VFL), licence in 1986, it was the first privately owned club in the history of the competition and debuted in the 1987 VFL season.
The club initially played home matches at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast (this stadium was redeveloped many years after the relocation of the Bears to facilitate home matches for expansion club the Gold Coast Suns). After many years of negotiation, in 1991 the AFL and the Bears convinced the Queensland Government to redevelop the Brisbane Cricket Ground (Gabba) facilitating a permanent move to the venue for the 1993 season after which the club experienced a period of success.
During its history, the club enjoyed only a modest amount of success, being the first non-Victorian side to win an AFL reserves premiership in 1991. Despite the success in its later years, the club struggled to shake the derisive tags which included "Carrara Koalas" (in reference to the Gold Coast home and the somewhat tame marsupial) and "Bad News Bears" which drew comparisons of its management similar to the hit 1970s movie. The ‘Bad News Bears’ were not so terrible by Michelangelo Rucci August 18, 2017 Warwick Capper's life with bad-news Bears by Jon Pierik for The Age May 6, 2014
The club came close to folding prior to its move to Brisbane and the AFL began preparing a contingency for its demise in the event that the move was to fail. While the Bears improved on the field, the club continued to struggle financially. At the end of the 1996 season, the AFL helped negotiate a deal with the Fitzroy Football Club administrator whereby the Bears took over Fitzroy's AFL assets and operations and as a condition of that deal, on November 1, 1996, Brisbane Bears members voted to change the club's name to the Brisbane Lions, who participate in the AFL today. The Bears played in 220 VFL/AFL matches over ten seasons, with 70 wins, 148 losses and 2 draws.
The idea of a Brisbane-based VFL club had begun in 1984, with former actor and businessman Paul Cronin planning on purchasing a licence from the VFL believing that the VFL could not survive successfully without a national competition, however there were some in the VFL management that did not agree, most notably Alan Schwab. Cronin believed that Queensland was uniquely positioned in that it had an existing base in the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL). Migration from the southern states saw the QAFL go through a period of expansion into the Gold and Sunshine Coasts in the 1970s and despite being less popular than the Queensland Rugby League and Queensland Rugby Union had grown to include a number of well established, wealthy and well supported clubs. The early 1980s had also seen in Queensland and QAFL recruited players making an impact in the VFL, including Frank Dunell, Warren Jones, Gary Shaw, Zane Taylor and young stars like Scott McIvor and Jason Dunstall. Cronin approached premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen in November 1985 to garner government support for the idea.'A Bear is Born' Brisbane Bears promotional film 1987
In 1985, the QAFL had decided that pushing for a Melbourne-based club to relocate to Brisbane was the most viable option. The idea was helped in 1986 when incoming chair Ross Oakley's interest in mergers and relocations to help the VFL expand into a national competition.
In June 1985, Brisbane sports promoter John Brown announced he would bid for a Brisbane licence along with entertainment promoter Michael Edgely.
On 22 May 1986, at the Brisbane Parkroyal Hotel, the QAFL president John Collins and Ken Murphy announced plans to lobby for a Brisbane-based VFL team the QAFL still pursuing the relocation of an existing team.
The VFL's Jack Hamilton flew to Brisbane in July 1986 to explore the options including club relocations (but denied that it was for Fitzroy), stating to the media that a Brisbane team would be possible in 1987 if a vacancy was available. He later stated that Brisbane was the preferred city for VFL expansion and that the VFL had hoped that it could retain all of its existing clubs during the expansion phase.
A third bidder a consortium headed by Perth millionaire Alastair Norwood (head of Jeans West) was announced shortly after Brown's bid.
The QAFL joined as a fourth bidder for the new licence, but stated that it was open to forming a consortium with any of the other three bids. Ken Murphy decided that Cronin's motives for the licence were genuine and aligned with the QAFL. Brown initiated discussions with North Melbourne Football Club in an attempt to lure it to Brisbane, however the Kangaroos rejected the proposal. In response to the moves by the other bids, on 19 August 1986, the QAFL and Cronin joined forces.
Struggling Fitzroy Football Club, in conjunction with the VFL, began investigating a relocation to Brisbane in 1987. However the club under Leon Wiegard voted to remain in Melbourne. Struggling Richmond Football Club under Alan Bond proposed to play half its games in Brisbane in 1987. Bond ultimately got his way... in a way By Tony Greenberg, Richmond Media on Jul 18, 2020 The move was seen as a threat of relocation and met strong opposition, led by Kevin Bartlett who rallied to stop the proposal, though the club came very close to folding the following year. Despite the setback, the VFL decided to push forward with the plans for expansion into Brisbane.
At the end of 1986, the VFL Commission announced plans to set up privately owned clubs based in Perth and Brisbane, ignoring a strong bid from AFL Canberra for a team in Canberra, motivated by the need to sell multimillion-dollar licences to save a number of Victorian clubs which were struggling financially. The VFL at the time set a price of $4 million AUD for a licence to enter the league with the proceeds to be split among the existing clubs.
On 1 October 1986, the VFL board was announced that teams from Brisbane (Brisbane Bears) and Perth (West Coast Eagles) would compete in the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1987 and that no $2.8 million AUD rescue package would be offered for struggling Fitzroy. The VFL Commission initially chose to grant John Brown's consortium Browns International Sport Limited the licence.
Unable to secure access to a stadium, Cronin's QAFL consortium drew up plans for a $7 million new stadium on vacant land at Boondall (on the site of what became the Brisbane Entertainment Centre). Brisbane's main outdoor venues, the Brisbane Cricket Ground (Gabba) and Brisbane Showgrounds' Main Oval, were unavailable due to long-term contracts and the Brisbane Cricket Ground (Gabba) was home to the greyhound racing club and was encircled by a dog racing track. The QAFL believed that the club should be based in Brisbane and supported the redevelopment of the Brisbane Cricket Ground (Gabba) (owned by the Gabba trust), or secondary options of a new stadium at Boondall or Chandler (on land owned by the government).
With the higher price offered VFL withdrew its support for Browns and extended the selection process. The consortia found a financial backer in millionaire entrepreneur and Qintex owner Christopher Skase. In response Norwood's syndicate withdrew from the bidding. Cronin lobbied every VFL club president individually to gain their support for the bid. The VFL Commission voted unanimously to award the Cronin-Skase-QAFL bid the licence. The club was given very little time to establish itself, and was without a home ground.
Millionaire and Qintex owner Christopher Skase was appointed deputy chairman. Qintex General Manager Ian Curtis was also appointed to the club's board.
In December 1986, the branding and Brisbane Bears name was leaked to the public. The new marketing department intended for the bear mascot to resemble Dreamworld's mascot Kenny to appeal to children and tourists. They created two variations of the bear, a smiling bear for the VFL logo and an "angry bear" for games that would appear roaring for matches and many of the marketing and promotional materials for the club.
The club unveiled a playing strip consisting of a gold with a maroon yoke and a triangular "BB" logo intended to represent a stylised map of the club's home state, Queensland, with the outline of a koala head appearing inside of the larger B. Maroon was chosen as the state colour of Queensland and gold as symbolic of the Queensland sunshine.
Collingwood's Mark Williams was the new club's first player signing. Other marquee signings were Geoff Raines and Jim Edmond, however most of the other players were from the SANFL and the WAFL. Most notably there were few local Queenslanders in the side. Queenslanders were approached, however there were very few playing in the VFL level at the time. In search of a marquee Queenslander, the Bears approached up and coming Hawthorn Football Club full-forward Jason Dunstall with a $2 million 10-year deal to spearhead the club, however he declined. Why Bris-vegas didn’t have enough lights to land Dunstall from The Australian 1 August 2022 The Bears were exposed for their lack of local talent but among the local names in the inaugural squad were Gary Shaw, Frank Dunell, Tony Beckett, Darren Carlson, Allan Giffard and Stuart Glascott. However few of the Queenslanders in the side made an impact.
Upon its admission, the Bears did not have a large reserve of local players from which to compile a VFL-standard playing list. To assist with its inaugural playing list, the VFL arranged for every other club to provide at least two players; understandably, other clubs were averse to providing top-line players and few of the players provided were of a high quality. The Bears pursued a number of stars aggressively and did manage a few key signings, including Collingwood's captain Mark Williams, and 1985 Brad Hardie. A significant proportion of the player list was recruited from the South Australian National Football League and West Australian Football League. Mark Mickan, a ruckman recruited from West Adelaide, was appointed captain of the Bears in its inaugural season.
On 18 December 1986, the club nominated the Carrara Oval on the Gold Coast as a temporary venue with a capacity of 20,000 mooted through the use of temporary stands through the use of metal . The choice of venue was reported to be the insistence of Christopher Skase. Bears President, Paul Cronin officially announced the home ground on December 23. While it raised the ire of the QAFL who were adamant that the club be Brisbane based, the decision to base the club over 70 kilomtres from its namesake baffled many. Skase's Gold Coast business interests were reportedly a major factor, with its proximity to his Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort development at Southport under construction at his subsequent promotion of corporate hospitality packages to wealthy southern travellers. Gold Coast history: Christopher Skase's Qintex group from the Gold Coast Bulletin 3 Mar 2019 Skase argued that with a playing surface the same dimensions as the Melbourne Cricket Ground the venue was the ideal choice. Nevertheless, the decision would begin a bitter and long protracted battle between the QAFL and the Bears which was not resolved until 1991.
Skase spent $1 million redeveloping Carrara Oval over a 10-week period at the beginning of 1987. This included the erection of temporary stands, club rooms and facilities.
In 1988, a rift developed between the QAFL and the Bears, who had refused a move to Brisbane. The QAFL responded by threatening to secure a second Queensland licence for a Brisbane-based team by 1991.
The club again recruited aggressively, landing Sydney Swans glamour spearhead Warwick Capper. In 1988 and 1989 the club suffered some severe defeats, finishing 13th and 10th respectively. Knights was sacked with eight rounds to play in the 1989 season. The club psychologist, Paul Feltham, took charge of the team for the remainder of the year.
In 1993, staving off media rumours that the Bears would merge with the Sydney Swans to form a combined Queensland/New South Wales team, the Northern Swans, or be relocated to Tasmania or Port Adelaide.
By this stage, the club was also under severe financial pressure. Attendances had been very poor due to poor performances and the long distance between Gold Coast and Brisbane and also due to the admission of the Brisbane Broncos which achieved the goal set by Queensland Rugby League general manager Ross Livermore of marketing and promotions interference against the threat of the VFL's expansion, with the team making their debut in the 1988 NSWRL season.
The AFL spent significant amounts of money to help the Bears survive over the coming years, and the club was provided with priority draft picks and special recruiting zones to give it access to some of the nation's best talent, which over the next few years allowed the club to recruit future stars such as Michael Voss, Jason Akermanis, Clark Keating, Steven Lawrence and Darryl White.
Four-time QAFL premiership coach Norm Dare was appointed as coach in 1990, but after failing to improve from the Bears position from successive wooden spoons, he was sacked at the end of the season.
Off-field, Pelerman was losing millions of dollars annually on the club. At one point in 1991, Pelerman told Bears coach Robert Walls that he was closing the club down. Private ownership's failed history in AFL by Oliver Caffrey for Newcastle Herald May 4, 2020
As part of the club's proposed move to the Brisbane Cricket Ground (Gabba), Pelerman agreed to release the Bears from private ownership and revert to a traditional club structure in which the club's members were able to elect the board. Gold Coast to farewell AFL stalwart ABC News 22 January 2004
In 1994, the Bears changed the club logo and the club song, and also began to show signs of a competitive side and were contenders for a finals berth before falling away in the last five games of the season. Then, in 1995, the club reached the finals after an extraordinary late-season recovery. After Round 15, the Bears were third-last on the ladder with four wins, and Robert Walls had announced his resignation as coach halfway through the season, but committed himself to seeing out the year. In round 16, the Bears trailed Hawthorn Hawks by 45 points at three-quarter time, but mounted an astounding final-quarter comeback to win the match by 7 points; at the time it was the largest final quarter comeback in league history. Brisbane then won five of its six remaining matches in the home-and-away season, including against Richmond and Essendon who were both in the top four, to just reach the finals for the first time, albeit with a win–loss record of only 10–12. The team was eliminated, but not disgraced, after losing its first ever final to eventual premiers Carlton by 13 points.
The Bears' last match was a preliminary final on Saturday 21 September 1996 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against North Melbourne, coincidentally the same location and opponent as their first match in 1987. Brisbane lost by 38 points to North Melbourne, who went on to win the 1996 premiership. With that loss, the Bears era and its history ended after a short and mostly troubled existence, with ten seasons of competition and the third-place finish in 1996 as its best performance.
The team would sing the first verse and the chorus in the change room after each win. The song was played in full over the stadium's speakers after each win.
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| Premiers | Grand Finalist | Minor premiers | Finals appearance | Wooden spoon |
| 1987 | 13th | 6 | 16 | 0 | Peter Knights | Mark Mickan | Phil Walsh | Jim Edmond | 34 | |
| 1988 | 13th | 7 | 15 | 0 | Peter Knights | Mark Mickan | Mark Withers | Warwick Capper | 45 | |
| 1989 | 10th | 8 | 14 | 0 | Peter Knights; Paul Feltham | Mark Mickan | John Gastev | Brad Hardie | 54 | |
| 1990 | 14th | 4 | 18 | 0 | Norm Dare | Roger Merrett | David Bain; Martin Leslie | Brad Hardie | 37 | |
| 1991 | 14th | 3 | 19 | 0 | Robert Walls | Roger Merrett | Michael McLean | Laurence Schache | 47 | |
| 1992 | 14th | 4 | 17 | 1 | Robert Walls | Roger Merrett | John Gastev | John Hutton | 43 | |
| 1993 | 13th | 4 | 16 | 0 | Robert Walls | Roger Merrett | Martin Leslie | Roger Merrett | 60 | |
| 1994 | 12th | 9 | 13 | 0 | Robert Walls | Roger Merrett | Craig Lambert | Roger Merrett | 41 | |
| 1995 | 8th | 10 | 12 | 0 | Robert Walls | Roger Merrett | Michael Voss | Roger Merrett | 44 | |
| 1996 | 3rd | 15 | 6 | 1 | John Northey | Roger Merrett | Michael Voss | Alastair Lynch | 52 |
| 1989 | 12th | 3 | 16 | 1 | ||||||
| 1990 | 8th | 8 | 12 | 0 | Rodney Eade | |||||
| 1991 | 3rd | 14 | 8 | 0 | Rodney Eade | Rod Lester-Smith | ||||
| 1992 | 11th | 7 | 15 | 0 |
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