Dear Members and Supporters,

We are poised for an exciting finish to the home and away season. With seven games remaining we sit inside the top eight, but with a number of teams fighting to be there in September, we will need to bring our best football in the coming weeks. The players will welcome the might of the Tiger Army behind them in the crucial games to come. Be there and show your support!

Our members and supporters have been brilliant as always. Our average home game attendance of 48,738 is number one in the AFL. Our total home and away crowd for the season-to-date is 697,568, which is also number one in the AFL. Both numbers are a testament to the loyalty of our fans, and we look forward to seeing you at the remaining games.

We are also poised to break through the 100,000-member barrier for the fifth consecutive season in the coming weeks. That will be an amazing result during testing times and everyone at the Club is enormously proud. Thanks to each and every one of you.

The AFLW fixture was released this week and our season kicks off in Geelong on August 28. Four of our next five games will be home games at the Swinburne Centre, broken up by the inaugural AFLW Dreamtime game against Essendon. Our women are back in training and excited about the season ahead.

Off-field, many of you will be aware that the State Government has approved a planning scheme amendment which enables the Club to proceed with the redevelopment of Punt Road Oval. This was very welcome news that shores up the future of our Club on so many levels.

The project has been generously supported by both the Federal and State governments, and we have ramped up our fundraising efforts to source the balance of the $65 million required to deliver the redevelopment. The design is being further refined at the moment, and we have also embarked on the initial stages of the tender process. 

I thought it also timely to provide an update on our subsidiary businesses. Aligned Leisure and Richmond Institute are both incredibly important to the financial stability of the Club and are delivering outstanding health, wellbeing and education outcomes.

Aligned Leisure (AL) recently commenced management of facilities in Batemans Bay, NSW. In total, AL now manages 30 health and recreation facilities across Victoria and NSW. We have significant expansion plans in place and hope to share news of further growth in the coming months.

Richmond Institute (RI) is delivered in partnership with Swinburne University and has now been in operation for six years. It is a unique educational opportunity that has provided outcomes and pathways for more than 1200 students. Most importantly, it is a trusted provider and that is critically important for the young people who participate in RI programs. 

We have an exciting finale to the home and away season ahead of us, starting with a difficult game against Gold Coast this Saturday afternoon. I look forward to sharing the journey with you over the coming weeks and also look forward to seeing you all at the football.

Go Tiges

Peggy O'Neal
President
Richmond Football Club