The AFL maintains preparations for the Shanghai clash between Port Adelaide and the Gold Coast Suns are on track despite photographs showing there is much work to do.
Photographs supplied by an AFL supporter in Shanghai show that while the surface is improving, officials will still need to prove it is up to AFL standard.
![Work to do: Shanghai stadium where the Port Adelaide-Gold Coast match will be held in round 8.](/web/20170127002504im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/y/h/6/e/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtyecq.png/1485327935350.jpg)
There is no seating in the stands but these will be built closer to the round eight match.
"We are on track for the game in China," AFL spokesman Patrick Keane said.
"All the temporary stands and seating at the ends of the ground and the marquees won't go in until three to four weeks before the game, as per the event-build schedule. All the work so far has been around the playing surface, which is not the full grassed area but the central area. Our staff are very happy with the turf so far."
The Power conducted a reconnaissance mission in late November, sending coach Ken Hinkley, fitness chief Darren Burgess and six players – Travis Boak, Robbie Gray, Chad Wingard, Ollie Wines, Paddy Ryder and Brad Ebert – over to train and host junior footy clinics in Century Park.
The Power also maintain all preparations are progressing well but directed questions to the AFL when contacted on Wednesday.
AFL Fans Association president Gerry Eeman said it was too early for potential spectators to be concerned.
"It's still a fair way away. We would like to think there is plenty of time for the AFL to ensure it is up to scratch," he said.
"Maybe the photos will help an awareness of the state of the stadium."
The Demons and Lions held an exhibition match at the same stadium in October 2010, where many spectators sat on the concrete steps in the grandstand.
![The Demons and the Lions played in Shanghai in 2010.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170127002504im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/y/o/0/4/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1485327844959.png)
The Demons and the Lions played in Shanghai in 2010. Photo: Getty Images
That trip was remembered more for Lions forward Brendan Fevola boozing in front of AFL hierarchy and being thrown out of a nightclub, believed to have been one of "multiple serious breaches" the club used three months later to sack him.
Former Demon Tom Scully left the end-of-season trip early, understood to have been concerned about the boozy nature of it. It's believed this was one reason why he quit the club after the 2011 season and accepted the riches on offer from expansion side, Greater Western Sydney.
The Power expect more than 3000 supporters to make the trip, while ticketing details for Shanghai-based fans will be released from late February.
Power chairman David Koch has said the clash would be a landmark moment for the AFL.
"The AFL will become the first elite foreign competition to play a regular-season game for points in China, beating the likes of the NBA, English Premier League, Major League Baseball and NFL," he said.
"That is a monumental achievement in itself and speaks volumes of the strength of the relationship between our two nations.
"This is so much more significant than just playing a game for premiership points on foreign soil. This is a landmark moment in the development of Australia's sporting, cultural, political, economic and tourism ties with China."