ETIHAD Stadium will be in pristine shape despite this week's KISS concerts, according to stadium management and the AFL.

The KISS and Mötley Crüe arena concerts will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday night, giving organisers nearly four days to have the ground fit to host the Collingwood-Brisbane Lions NAB Cup match at 6.40pm on Saturday.

Just over two years ago, Etihad Stadium hosted three AC/DC concerts in February with the third held four days before the NAB Cup opener.

Problems then arose with the surface shifting and players slipping over throughout the 2010 season.  

Etihad Stadium CEO Paul Sergeant says the surface will be "fantastic" on Saturday, despite the stage assembled between the wing and the centre of the ground and three zones of standing room running towards the city side seating.

Turf protection will be installed in those areas to help the grass and the AFL will monitor the ground's recovery after the concerts.

"In terms of the KISS stage set-up and turnover, we believe the time it will be on the field will cause minimal impact on the grass," AFL spokesman Patrick Keane said.

"We're not anticipating any concerns when it comes to next weekend's game."

Sergeant said the wear and tear caused by the concerts wasn't predicted to be extreme, with the bump in of the stage and flooring to start on Monday morning.

"It's not a major stadium show; it's an arena style show so there's far less pressure on the field than in a major stadium show," Sergeant told Triple M.

Etihad Stadium spokesperson Bill Lane said the configuration for this week's concerts was "totally different" to what was used for AC/DC.

"AC/DC was a full stadium event that attracted something like 180,000 people over three nights, and this will be two much smaller events and all up we'll have a crowd of about 20,000 people," Lane told AFL.com.au.

"We're using about one-eighth of the ground so it's not a full arena event as was the case with AC/DC."

It follows reported concerns about the ground's hardness over the weekend from players and coaches.

The AFL said readings of the surface's firmness taken on Thursday last week – one day before the Western Bulldogs-Hawthorn game – were "well within our guidelines for stadium surface".

Sergeant denied the ground had been prepared with the concerts as the priority.

"We haven't prepared the field with KISS in mind; we've got sportsmen to look after," he said.

"When we say it's in that 'preferred range' [of readings], in fact, if anything, it's probably a little bit soft.

"I know that's not the feedback that's coming back but when we look at the data that's made available to us, which I've shared this morning with the clubs, it's important for us to recognise that's what we use that data for.

"We do take peoples' and players' comments seriously and there are a few points we're going to be looking into.

"There's a bit of 'divoting' so we're going to be looking into that but in terms of the hardness, it's something the guys monitor very, very closely."

He also said the length of the grass, which is dependant on the sport being played with cricket and soccer needing a shorter cut, was not necessarily the reason behind the concerns raised by some players.

"You are trying [to find the balance] but with grass, it grows so you can cut it to the length that each particular sport requires," he said.
"I wouldn't think that's too much of the issue but it's potentially a factor."