However, the club was still struggling off-field. One of the Bears' biggest problems was its lack of support (both on and off the field) in Melbourne, the location of most of its away matches. In mid-1996, the struggling Fitzroy Lions collapsed due to financial pressures and was seeking to merge its assets with another club. When a merger with to form the North Fitzroy Kangaroos failed to win the support of the other AFL clubs, a deal for a merger was reached between Fitzroy and the Bears. The new team was to be known as the Brisbane Lions, based at the Gabba, with a new song, emblem and jumper all based on Fitzroy's. As such, the history of the Brisbane Bears as an individual entity ended after the 1996 season, with ten seasons of competition and the third-place finish in 1996 as its best performance.