Etihad Stadium in race to have surface ready for AFL round one

Etihad Stadium management is confident the turf of its playing surface will be up to AFL standard in time for round one of the 2017 AFL Premiership, despite back-to-back concerts being held at the venue in the last fortnight.

Grammy-winning singer Adele's 360-degree stage was still being dismantled in the middle of the stadium on yesterday morning (Monday 20th March) following her Saturday and Sunday concerts, which attracted more than 75,000 fans each night.

A week earlier, Etihad Stadium hosted pop star Justin Bieber.

As of Saturday, the Docklands venue will host its first game for the 2017 season between St Kilda and Melbourne.

While not facing the same, widely reported as Brisbane venue The Gabba, a spokesperson for Etihad Stadium told AFL.com.au that ground staff had "a lot of work ahead of them to get the venue up to standard", but was confident the ground would be ready by Saturday.

Replacement of damaged turf begin late yesterday afternoon, with the goal posts likely to be installed on Friday.

Lower image shows Adele at Etihad Stadium. Courtesy of Bill Lane/Facebook.

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