MEET Brion the Lion.

He is the pride and joy of Brisbane chief executive Greg Swann and will be the ‘mane’ attraction at the Gabba today.

Swann made national headlines last year after floating the idea of featuring a real lion at Brisbane home games in 2015.

The preliminary concept received support from AFL HQ but the howls of protest from animal protection groups and ‘paw’ publicity ensured it never got off the ground.

But Swann was not to be denied in his quest to set Brisbane apart in the AFL’s year of game day fan experience.

media_camera The Brisbane Lions’ new inflatable mascot.

Brion the Lion is a five-metre high, nine-metre long inflatable lion from China that Brisbane players will run through to get onto the ground before games.

“I’ve finally got my lion,’’ Swann laughed.

“In all seriousness though, it should be good.

“I think it is something the kids will all love and will only add to the game day experience for our supporters.’’

Brion replaces the traditional banner that the team runs through pre-game.

It takes approximately four minutes to inflate and install Brion above the Brisbane race and four minutes to deflate it and remove it from the ground.

The name “Brion’’ was generated from a fan survey which also produced the name “Roy’ for the on-ground mascot that interacts with fans before and during matches.