RICHMOND could be set to train on the MCG’s hallowed turf once a week for the rest of the season, after AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou said the surface of its current home ground was inadequate.

Demetriou said Punt Road oval needs such a lot of work, the AFL is prepared to help the Tigers find an alternative training ground.

"They have got a crap ground to train on,” Demetriou told The Age. “It's just a bad ground and it's the wrong size.

"You only need to walk on the playing surface to see what they're up against."

The Tigers were part of a State Government funding initiative that was launched on the eve of the season, with the club set to receive $2.5 million to "support development of a new indoor facility, ground improvements and drought-proofing at Punt Road oval".

Richmond is receiving the biggest handout of the Melbourne metropolitan clubs, with North Melbourne the next in line with a $2 million cash injection.

But Demetriou said the redevelopment of Punt Road is a time consuming project, and highlighted the need for the Tigers to train elsewhere in the immediate future,

"They need to resurface the ground and that will take six to nine months at a time when they are going to have to train somewhere else," he said.

"We need to find them somewhere adequate to train."

Demetriou said North Melbourne’s issues were equally pressing, but the Roos had a good surface on which to train.  

"Arden Street's got different issues and we're working on those as well as part of the redevelopment," Demetriou said.

"They are working in squalor but their training surface is good."