MCG management admits staff will face a race against the clock to have the ground ready for April's season opener between Carlton and Richmond.

Personnel at the home of footy will work through the night to transform the playing surface from cricket to football mode after the cricket World Cup final on Sunday 29 March.

They will have less than four full days to get the ground ready for opening round, a process which not only includes the removal of the cricket pitches, but also a complete changeover of stadium signage and reconfiguration of function rooms.

The Tigers and Blues play at 7.20pm on Thursday 2 April.

Click here for the 2015 AFL fixture

MCC chief executive Stephen Gough admitted the turnaround would be tight.

"I have my people who tell me they can do it, so I've told the AFL we can do it, I've told World Cup (ICC) we can do it," Gough said.

"The team here have been used to that sort of pressure at times, (but it's a) little bit different with a major international tournament," he said.

"We've done it a few times on Sheffield Shield finals with a two or three-day turnaround. I'm confident we can do it again."

The AFL backed the MCG to be ready.

"We have complete confidence in the ground being ready for our first match," AFL spokesman Patrick Keane said.

"The MCG is the most experienced venue in Australia at moving between major events and in recent years has always had the ground in first-class condition at the start of our season, following on from previous cricket seasons."

The MCG's 2015 schedule is packed, with State of Origin rugby league and major soccer fixtures jammed in between regular AFL commitments.

The beginning of the AFL season has been delayed because of the international cricket tournament.

The AFL Grand Final will be played on Saturday 3 October, and there will only be one bye for teams this season.