The Brisbane Bears Football Club was a professional Australian Rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland.
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 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 interstate 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.[1][2]
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 license and as a condition of that deal, on November 1, 1996, Brisbane Bears members voted to change the club's name to the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club (BBFFC or Brisbane Lions), who participate in the AFL today.[3][4] The Bears played in 220 VFL/AFL matches over ten seasons, with 70 wins, 148 losses and 2 draws.[5]
^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
^"Deed of Arrangement Between Fitzroy Football Club and Brisbane Bears - details of vote and name change on Page 10". viclions.wordpress.com. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
^"ASIC page for Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club, page lists Brisbane Bears as the previous club name". connectonline.asic.gov.au. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
^"Brisbane Bears seasons summaries". AFL Tables. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
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