THE HIGHLY-anticipated clash between St Kilda and Geelong will not be moved from Docklands to the MCG.

Speaking on Melbourne radio on Friday, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said negotiations between the League and the venues aimed at moving the round 14 match between this year's two heavyweights had failed.

"I can formally announce that we won't be moving the game, which is unfortunate," Demetriou told 3AW's Neil Mitchell program.

"We've been working for probably the better part of four weeks on the logistics of moving this particular game, dealing with both venues, and for a number of reasons it won't be moved.

"It's a problem dealing with both venues, it's not pleasant and we've still obviously got issues with both of them, but the game will not be moved.

"I think in an ideal world it would have been nice to move it, but we've also got the Etihad Stadium who are threatening to sue us for compensation, and there's all sorts of things going on."

St Kilda chief executive Michael Nettlefold, whose club will host the match, said he understood the League's position considering how difficult it is to shift matches from one venue to another.

“The St Kilda Football Club is keen to play big games in front of large crowds, but we appreciate the financial and logistical complexities in making this happen," Nettlefold told saints.com.au.

"Our members were always at the forefront of our mind throughout all discussions we had with the AFL and the club has worked closely with the League to explore all feasible options.

"While we believe the club has the capability to undertake such an immense operation, the St Kilda Football Club is happy for the AFL to make this decision and we will prepare as usual for what will no doubt be a great match at Etihad Stadium."

The push to move the clash from the smaller venue to the larger one has gathered momentum as the two sides continued their unbeaten starts to the season.

However, Demetriou said contractual agreements with the two venues and other issues like signage and corporate box arrangements proved too much to overcome.

The Docklands venue has a capacity of 56,347, but Demetriou was confident the match-up could have attracted a crowd of approximately 75,000 people at the MCG.

Demetriou said that he remained open to the idea of televising the game, which starts at 2:10 pm on Sunday July 5, live into Melbourne if it sells out as expected.