The Crusaders are determined to play their rugby in Christchurch next season and are preparing the back-up option of a temporary 25 000 seat stadium pending reports on the condition of AMI Stadium.

The team from Canterbury have not played one game in their earthquake-hit hometown this season but that will change next year as three potential locations have already been scouted as alternate venues for the 2012 Super Rugby season.

A full review of AMI Stadium has been done and the franchise will know the bottom line later this week, but coach Todd Blackadder did not seem especially hopeful when questioned about the stadium at a press conference in Cape Town.

Crusaders chief executive officer Hamish Riach told the Sunday Star Times: "There is a lot of speculation about the stadium, but we haven't seen the engineering reports so we don't know what the state of it is.

"There has been a lot of talk that has almost banked the fact that the stadium won't be available and everyone's moved on from that. But no one's stopping to pause that we haven't seen the reports on it yet," he said.

Whatever the outcome, the one thing that is certain is that the Crusaders will play their home games somewhere in Christchurch next year.

Riach explained: "What we are absolutely determined about is that the Crusaders will play the bulk of their games in Christchurch next year.

"Clearly if that can't be at AMI Stadium then we need to look at other options. All of that is waiting for the engineers' surveys on the stadium. We don't know what the report is going to say, but we're assuming it will be clearer on what we can and can't do.

"Depending on what it says, our commitment is to do everything we can to see the Crusaders play in Christchurch next year. We're starting to think what that might be and we're open to any way of playing in Christchurch next year," he added.