Carlton CEO Steven Trigg has confirmed his club raised questions with the AFL over having to play the opening match of the NAB AFL Women's competition at Olympic Park Oval.
The venue, which will host four AFLW matches, has come under fire for the hardness of the surface and the lack of seating.
"We queried it. It's not a question of us ticking off on it, (as) the AFL will tell you where you play," Trigg said.
"We queried (the decision) from a broadcasting perspective and in terms of how busy the precinct will be. But from our perspective once it was explained, we just get on with it."
The Blues face the Magpies on Friday, February 3 with concerns the venue opposite the MCG might not be suited to handle what is expected to be a healthy crowd for the AFLW's historic first official match.
Olympic Park Oval's capacity of around 2000 is well short of Carlton home ground, Ikon Park, which holds about 20,000.
The Blues will host three games at Ikon Park and Trigg said the ground was in great condition, after a patchy 2016.
Carlton's VFL affiliate the Northern Blues had three matches relocated from Ikon Park in 2016 because the turf was worn.
"I think (the ground) can cope with the needs of Northern Blues, Carlton and the women's team, but we've also got the umpires (training) here as well, which is another timetabling factor during the year," Trigg said.
The Blues have spent about $100,000 on redevelopments at the stadium in preparation for the inaugural AFL Women's competition, with the majority spent on dedicated changerooms for the team.
"We needed to make some modifications in terms of wet areas and shower cubicles and the like. That detail aside, the rooms, which have weights, other facilities and offices for coaches and support staff, are really well set up," Trigg said.
"It's the old away team change room and I came here a few times with the Crows. There's plenty of space there, it just needed to be modified."
Carlton vice-captain Madeline Keryk said the club had done an excellent job with the new facilities.
"They look fantastic. They've done a really great job and we've got great support services available to us," she said.
The Blues defeated Melbourne in a practice match at Ikon Park on Saturday morning. Their first home game of the NAB AFLW competition, against Greater Western Sydney, is scheduled for Saturday, February 11, starting at 5.05pm AEDT.
