Richmond, along with Carlton and St Kilda, will play one home game each year for the next two years on the Gold Coast.

“AFL is the premium national football brand and the opportunity to showcase our club in one of the fastest growing corridors in Australia is a great one for Richmond,” Richmond CEO Steven Wright said

“It will assist in the continued development of Richmond’s national profile and allow us to continue to build our membership throughout Australia,” Wright said.

“The Gold Coast game will provide significant benefits to the club and we will ensure our Victorian members will not miss out. In 2009, we will be playing 17 games in Victoria, the same as in 2008.”

“Additionally, members will get access to an additional MCG game in lieu of the Gold Coast game. This means in 2009, Richmond members will get access to 9 MCG and 2 Telstra Dome games,” he said.
“This is an excellent outcome for our members and will also provide additional financial security for the Club through these difficult economic times.”
“Additionally, with the game fixtured during school holidays we anticipate many Richmond fans will make the trip north to watch the inaugural Richmond game,” Wright said.

Senior coach Terry Wallace said: “The game is now well and truly national. By playing one game a year on the Gold Coast we will be able to reach out to our interstate supporters and also get crucial game time playing on the surface at Carrara,” he said.

Richmond vice captain Chris Newman said: “We are excited that our Richmond brand will be involved with marketing the AFL expansion in South East Queensland and we urge our supporters to come along and watch us play on the Gold Coast.”

AFL Chief Operating Officer Gillon McLaughlin said it was important to fixture strong games next season to continue to build interest in the code.

“We know that the best advertisement for AFL is to see a game live. The atmosphere created by thousands of passionate fans combined with the fast-paced action and skill of AFL provides great entertainment,” he said.

“We’re thrilled to have three of our traditional AFL Clubs in Carlton, Richmond and St Kilda joining with us to build the game in South East Queensland, by bringing great teams and local heroes to the Gold Coast next year.”