Oval on the Gold Coast was announced as the home ground with a playing surface the same dimensions as the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Brisbane's main outdoor venues, the Brisbane Cricket Ground (Gabba) and Brisbane Showgrounds Main Oval, were unavailable due to long-term contracts and the 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 Gabba (owned by the Gabba trust), or secondary options of a new stadium at Boondall or Chandler (on land owned by the government). The club's board, however, were of the opinion the club would not be viable without if it did not own its own stadium. Temporary stands, club rooms and facilities were erected around Carrara. The decision would begin a bitter and long protracted battle between the QAFL and the Bears which was not resolved until 1991. 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 Brownlow Medallist 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 6'5" (196 cm) ruckman recruited from West Adelaide, was appointed captain of the Bears in its inaugural season. Knights Era The Bears won their first game in the VFL against North Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground 19.23 (137) to 15.14 (104) in front of 14,096 fans, and also won its second game, but ultimately fell towards the bottom of the ladder. The club avoided the wooden spoon by beating in the final round, and finished with six wins. The club attracted 98,616 fans to the eleven matches at Carrara Oval, an average of 8,965 per game, which was the lowest in the competition behind Fitzroy's 11,498. By contrast, the other new 1987 team the West Coast Eagles, with Australian rules football long established as the major football code in Perth, attracted