The Victorian government's "hopeless" management of COVID-19 means it is likely the 2021 Grand Final will be played interstate, according to Gold Coast chairman Tony Cochrane.

Victoria's latest lockdown forced the annual Dreamtime and Queens Birthday clashes to be moved away from the MCG for the second year in a row.

There are now serious concerns about whether the MCG will host the Grand Final and how many spectators will be allowed to attend if COVID-19 cases continue to spread.

Cochrane, whose company was involved in producing last year's Grand Final entertainment has raised doubts about the MCG hosting the Grand Final and has fuelled speculation about the possibility of Western Australia hosting the event.

โ€œGiven how hopeless your government are down there compared to every other state Iโ€™d say itโ€™s almost probable it has to be played somewhere else. So maybe itโ€™s time to share it around?โ€ Cochrane told The Age'sย Daniel Cherny.

โ€œIโ€™d share it around, although itโ€™s certainly not my call.โ€

Victorian Sports Minister Martin Pakula reassured Victorians that the game would return to the MCG this year.

โ€It is very easy to forget that it is only just over one month ago that we had almost 80,000 at the MCG for the Anzac Day clash,โ€ he said.

โ€œBut the fact is one of the reasons we are doing what weโ€™re doing now, running this into ground and snuffing it out, is that there are a lot of incredibly important stuff happening in the second half of the year.

โ€œWe want to be back in the situation we were, just a couple of weeks ago, where we had large crowds, full restaurants, business trading profitably and we are going to try to get back to the position as soon as we possibly can.โ€

Last night Optus Stadium chief Mike McKenna declared they are ready to host the Grand Final should it be relocated from Victoria.

โ€œWe were ready last year, and weโ€™ll be ready this year,โ€ McKenna told Sam Landsberger for The Herald Sun.

โ€œPeople in Western Australia, South Australia or even Tasmania have put in a lot over the years to make the game what it is today and deserve to be part of the celebration of those events,โ€

Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stuart Fox said the MCG had a blueprint for reopening.

โ€œThe AFL grand final is scheduled to be in four monthsโ€™ time, letโ€™s concentrate on getting through the immediate circumstance by keeping Victorians safe. The good thing for us, we have a blueprint ready for reopening the โ€™G and I think I speak for the whole of Victoria when I say, we look forward to seeing fans back in the stands watching live sport,โ€ Cox said.