World-class Perth Stadium will be a major upgrade on the soon-to-be defunct Domain Stadium – and that includes the quality of the playing surface.

The new state-of-the-art venue ticked-off a significant milestone this week when turf was laid for the first time.

Over the next month, about 60 truckloads – or more than 18,000 square metres – of turf will be rolled out in preparation for Perth Stadium's opening events early next year.

Unlike Domain Stadium's convex playing surface, Perth Stadium's field is flat, due to improvements in drainage, and will be safer for athletes because of the stabilised turf – a combination of artificial and natural grass also used at the MCG.

"(Athletes) get injured when they go from one surface that's inconsistent with another surface," said Hamish Sutherland, managing director of HG Sports Turf, which designed and constructed the field at Perth Stadium.

"So if you got from a loose surface to a tight surface, that's when they have to adapt – their muscle groups have to adapt, the body has to adapt – so it's very important we have a consistent surface.

"By having the artificial and the natural it gives you that consistency.

"It's thoroughly tested. There's a lot of performance testing that is undertaken to make sure it meets international standards."

Footings for the goal posts and cricket pitches have now been installed at the 60,000-seat venue, which is more than 88 per cent complete.

About 1000 workers are on site focusing on fitting out the internal areas ahead of the opening event, which is currently scheduled to be a one-day international cricket match between Australia and England on January 28.

Which teams will feature in the first AFL home-and-away match at Perth Stadium is yet to be decided, although it appears unlikely a Western Derby will be staged in round one.

The Dockers are pitching to open the 2018 season against one of the big Victorian clubs.

"We've certainly laid our case to have the opening game, and that being a Fremantle home game, ideally on a Saturday twilight," Fremantle CEO Steve Rosich told Triple M last month.

"We think there's a great business case for that, so we'll work through that with the AFL.

"I think we'll play a few games there before, in terms of the JLT (Community Series) games and maybe a practice game, so the people of Western Australia will get to see the new Perth Stadium in all its glory well before round one."

If West Coast doesn't finish in the top six this season and host a final, the last match at Domain Stadium will be the Eagles' round 23 clash against Adelaide on Sunday, August 27.