AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan insists that Fremantle and West Coast will play home games at Perth Stadium next season, but isn't sold on the idea of a Western Derby as the first football match at the state-of-the-art venue.
McLachlan is in Perth for talks aimed at finalising the Dockers and Eagles' move from the increasingly outdated Domain Stadium at the end of this year.
The new stadium is more than 82 per cent complete and on track to be open for the start of the 2018 AFL season, and a derby has been mooted as the likely first match at the venue.
"We opened (Adelaide Oval) with a local Showdown in Adelaide. I don't know if (a derby is) the right game here," McLachlan said.
"It feels to me that each club should have one go at having their own home game and have a derby later on, but we'll see.
"In the end, the right outcome is what Western Australians want to open that weekend."
Fremantle will host the final derby at Domain Stadium in round 17, which would normally mean it would be the Eagles' turn to host the opening crosstown clash next season.
Asked if the fierce rivals could share hosting rights, McLachlan replied: "I don't know. They're not great at sharing, the clubs over here, are they?"
Speaking ahead of Tuesday's meeting with key Perth Stadium stakeholders, McLachlan was confident long-running negotiations between the state government and WAFC were "close to the end".
The WAFC – which is adamant it should be no worse off by moving football to the new stadium – previously rejected a compensation package worth more than $100m over 10 years to surrender its lease at Domain Stadium.
Another point of contention is funding for the venue's construction.
The newly elected WA state government has asked the AFL and federal goverment to help pay for the $1.3b Perth Stadium.
McLachlan was tight-lipped about any funding contributions from the League, but spruiked the 60,000-capacity venue after being blown away on a guided tour.
"I'd been told – and I haven't seen it for a long time – how special it was, but it's going to be not only one of the great stadiums in Australia, it will be one of the great stadiums in the world," he said.
"This is going to be an extraordinary asset for Western Australia.
"I think it will have a huge impact on the people who live here and the economy, and I think, hopefully, the pride of people who live in Perth and Western Australia the way Adelaide Oval has done for South Australians."
