THOSE behind Perth's new stadium have moved to ensure problems with other AFL surfaces are not repeated.

From its inception Melbourne's Docklands Stadium, now known as Etihad, was plagued with turf issues, and more recently the surface at Sydney's ANZ Stadium has been the subject of much controversy.

The playing surface of the new Perth Stadium will cost up to $8 million, and project bosses insist it's far from an afterthought.

"We've investigated everything you can investigate about pitches, because it's reputational," WA sport and recreation director general Ron Alexander told AFL.com.au.

Alexander, the former Fitzroy captain and West Coast's inaugural coach, is the head of the project.

"It's like getting a stage right in a theatre, you've got to have it just right," he said.

"(It's) absolutely reputational, if you've got a good pitch athletes want to go play there, spectators can see a better game, and they're not seeing players and slip and slide, you can get a better standard, and they can have confidence in their footing and those sorts of things."

The new 60,000-seat stadium will have a roofline covering 85 per cent of the arena, meaning lights will be used to help the grass grow.

Builders are making no apologies for the cost.

"You'll be looking somewhere between five and eight million just for the pitch," Alexander said.

Artist's impression of new Perth Stadium on match day

"They have different levels of drainage, from fine sand to course sand to blue metal, to loam, to sand on the top.

"It will drain well, it will grow well.

"For different sports you need some different hardness too.

"With contact sports like football and rugby you need some sponginess with it, so that's all on the books."

The Perth Stadium project, which includes redeveloped parkland and a new transport hub, is springing to life on the banks of Perth's Swan River next to the Crown Burswood Casino.

In September, WA premier Colin Barnett told AFL.com.au the $1.3billion project was ahead of schedule, and could host its first AFL game as early as the 2017 finals.

The arena will also be used for cricket and rugby.

Drop-in cricket pitches are being developed off site, and shouldn't impact on the quality of the playing surface for AFL games.