The Otago Rugby Football Union had considered putting a tent on the corner of Burns and Neville Sts on the night of the test between the Springboks and the All Blacks on July 12.
But ORFU chief executive chief executive Richard Reid said the tent idea had been dropped.
He said there were too many financial uncertainties in the tent proposal, especially with a large tent to be erected in the Octagon.
The union was financially risk-averse at the moment.
He said if the weather was poor, and people stayed away, the union could make a loss, which was something it could not bear.
The union had not borne any costs in the planning of the tent village, which was inspired by the successful tent villages erected at Bathgate Park for day tests in the late-1990s and 2001.
He said the union was in the business of rugby, and not in the events game.
That was best left to promoters, who had the expertise and took the risks in undertaking such ventures.
Meanwhile, the Springboks will arrive in Dunedin just over 48 hours before they take the field, as the World Cup champions make a fleeting visit to the south.
Unlike the All Blacks, who will spend about a week in Dunedin, the Springboks will not arrive in Dunedin until 5.15pm next Thursday, and will leave on Sunday morning.
The team will stay and train in Wellington after playing the opening game of the Tri-Nations this Saturday, and will have a private hour and a-half training run on Carisbrook on Friday afternoon.
No other trainings are planned in Dunedin.
The Springboks management could not be contacted yesterday.
Reid said it was not ideal to have the visiting team arriving so late in the week, but that was their business.
He said initially the side was set to arrive on Monday, but Springboks management had made the change in the past few days.
Though the union had nothing formally planned for the Springboks before they changed their plans, it was always good for the city to have the players in and around town.
He said the side probably did not want to have three changes of base in its Australian and New Zealand trip.
The Springboks play the Wallabies in Perth on July 19.
The All Blacks arrive in Dunedin on Sunday afternoon.
Injured All Black captain Richie McCaw will not attend a captain's breakfast on Monday morning at the Alhambra-Union clubrooms but coach Graham Henry and hooker Keven Mealamu will be present.
The traditional Speights media function will be held on Friday night.
