RICHMOND has secured a major sponsor for the front of its jumper just a week before its Round 1 clash with Carlton at the MCG - and hopes to raise another $2 million.
The Tigers have signed Jeep, owned by US car giant Chrysler, to a three-year deal as the club's co-major partner.
But even bigger bucks are expected to roll into Punt Rd tonight at a gala dinner to launch the $6 million Fighting Tiger Fund campaign.
Richmond chief executive Brendan Gale said the Jeep deal completed a suite of off-field signings, including a naming rights contract for the club's new $20 million training and administration centre, now known as the ME Bank Centre.
"It's a very competitive market place but we are confident in what we've got to offer as a football club," Gale said.
Asked what he expected to raise at tonight's invitation-only Fighting Tiger event, Gale said: "Anything could happen.
"We've got a group of committed Tigers coming together and it's going to be a defining moment in our history. It's going to be an amazing night."
Club legends Kevin Bartlett, Royce Hart and Francis Bourke will take part in proceedings inside the Punt Rd redevelopment.
The fund seeks to clear the club's $4.5 million debt and increase its football department spending.
The Tigers signed car insurance company Bingle as their other major sponsor in January, but Gale conceded the club was yet to replace the lost poker machine revenue from the blue-chip Royal Oak Hotel in the heart of Richmond.
The venue, owned by pokies king Bruce Mathieson, was transferred to Carlton last year. The venue contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to club coffers.
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