Parramatta have failed in their bid to shift their season-opening NRL blockbuster against St George Illawarra to ANZ Stadium.

The club was hoping to move the March 12 clash from Parramatta Stadium to the Homebush venue to accommodate what they hoped would be a crowd of up to 50,000.

But the Eels said on Friday they were unable to reach an agreement with the Parramatta Stadium Trust, and the fixture will remain at the 20,000-capacity suburban ground.

Parramatta Stadium were going to impose a hefty financial penalty on the club if they robbed them of one of their scheduled games.

Eels chief executive Paul Osborne confirmed the highly-anticipated match would remain at Parramatta Stadium, where a sell-out crowd is expected.

"The board has listened to our members and fans and decided to play our first match of the NRL season at Parramatta Stadium," Osborne said in a statement.

"The penalty was too great to move the game.

"Since Parramatta Stadium were going to impose a $100,000 penalty, on top of the hirers fee we were already contracted to pay.

"To move the match would have cost us almost $200,000.

"Clearly the current arrangement with Parramatta Stadium is onerous and it is difficult to make decisions like this that could benefit the club and its fans.

"Now we hope the fans support our players and pack out all our games throughout the season and make them sell-outs."

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