Clubs have become increasingly frustrated at protracted negotiations over a new Etihad Stadium deal despite AFL assurances an agreement will be in place for 2018.

At a time when clubs are debating whether to join the China experiment, or even use it as a veiled bargaining tool, the lack of surety over a new financial model at Docklands has become a cause for concern.

The AFL's decision to buy Etihad Stadium in October last year for about $200 million was seen as a major breakthrough for tenant clubs, particularly the Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne and St Kilda, whose contracts were worse than Essendon and Carlton.

That the AFL purchased the 54,000-seat stadium, giving it sponsorship and signage rights, before it was due to take hold of the venue in 2025 for just $30 gave clubs the expectation a deal would soon be in place.

Clubs have been divided into three groups during the negotiation process – Essendon, which enjoyed a healthy contract, and Carlton individually, with the Bulldogs, North Melbourne and Saints as one.

AFL general manager of clubs and operations Travis Auld said on Tuesday a revised deal would be in place by 2018.

"We are working through the process now. Discussions are progressing in a constructive way. They are complex deals with lots of input that take time," he said.

The delay has prompted clubs to privately question whether the league is more interested in paying off debt than helping clubs end years of inequitable deals where low attendances meant the Kangaroos, Saints and Bulldogs, as they often bemoaned, had to "write a cheque" to play at their home stadium.

Negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement with players, in terms of the time dedicated to this, and the money left over, is also understood to have been a factor in the delay. It's understood clubs have concerns the new deals with the venue may not be much better than their current ones.

The frustration with the delay comes at a time when St Kilda has been linked to joining Port Adelaide in Shanghai next season, although the Saints said on Tuesday they had not given the clash any thought, while Cats chief executive Brian Cook says he will even consider taking a home game to China should the AFL fixture a Cats' home game at Docklands.

The Cats are not a tenant club of Etihad Stadium but typically have a couple of home matches there.

Cook on Tuesday reaffirmed the club's preference to not play a home game at Docklands next season, with the Cats after at least nine at the revamped Simonds Stadium.

He said the Cats were "mildly interested" in hosting the Power at Jiangwan Stadium – but that could change.

"That depends on whether the AFL want to fixture a home game for us at Etihad, which we don't want. If the AFL were going to do that, we might consider China as a home game instead," he said.

The Blues had been linked to the Shanghai clash but chief executive Steven Trigg insisted that was not the case.

"It's not on our agenda," he said.

However, the Blues could yet have an interest in selling one of their five home game at Docklands, depending on what new financial model is brokered at the venue.

"Part of the conundrum is we don't have a new financial model at Etihad clear as yet," Trigg said.

The Blues almost certainly would not sell a home MCG clash.

The Power are locked in to their deals with the Adelaide Oval and need an opponent to sell them a home game to continue the China experiment.

The Bulldogs continue to forge a strong alliance in Ballarat, and will have a home game against the Power at Eureka Stadium in round 22. They also have a home game in Cairns against the Suns in round 18 and are weighing up whether to activate an option for another year.

The Suns had sold their home game to the Power for $500,000. They remain the frontrunner to retain the China clash but will confirm their position once a review of the recent trip is completed.

They endured flight issues, struggled to generate sponsorship and were then thumped by the Power on the field, coming after coach Rodney Eade's less-than-enthusiastic comments about the logistics of the trip a week earlier.

It's understood tourism officials have the Suns and Sydney Swans as their preferred teams, for the Gold Coast and Australia's biggest city remain key destinations of Chinese tourists, and students enrolled in higher-education courses. But a Victorian-based club would likely have more supporters willing to make the trip, or encourage more ex-pats in the Asian region to attend.

Power chairman David Koch said his club generated about $4.1 million in sponsorship that was used to help stage the match. He told Fairfax Media this month $2 million of that had been renewed for next year.

The Saints are hopeful of returning to New Zealand and staging a home game, having last done so in 2015. This appears more likely to happen in 2019 than next year.

The Saints played three matches in Wellington but that was abandoned when the local council did not renew sponsorship. The club has been eyeing Auckland as a new venue.