The deal to play games in Cairns was struck between Richmond, the AFL and the Queensland Government and was announced today.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for Richmond Football Club to further develop its position as a national brand while at the same time protecting the rights of our members,” Richmond CEO Brendon Gale said.
“We will provide our members with guaranteed access to 11 games in Melbourne so they will enjoy all the benefits they would normally get as valued members of the club.
“At the same time we are able to explore innovative ways to grow our Club. We have some ambitious goals we have set ourselves and they won’t be achieved if we don’t look outside the square and be prepared to do things differently.”
Cairns boasts a 10,000-capacity stadium that has hosted a number of major events, including international cricket matches. Australian Rules participation in the region is growing rapidly with almost 7,000 active participants across all segments in 2010.
By 2011, the population of Cairns is predicted to be 182,000, making it significantly larger than major Victorian provincial cities Ballarat and Bendigo and comparable to the City of Geelong.
“Richmond Football Club has outstanding support across Australia and this game, together with our game in Darwin, will continue to provide us great opportunities to reach out to our existing supporter base while developing the next generation of fans,” Gale said.
“We also believe that these opportunities will underpin the development of our football team. We have a young list that will benefit from being together on the road. Good teams need to perform interstate and this will be a valuable learning experience.”
