diff --git a/django/contrib/admin/options.py b/django/contrib/admin/options.py
index 3128de4af7..90a817c0f1 100644
--- a/django/contrib/admin/options.py
+++ b/django/contrib/admin/options.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ from django.forms.models import BaseInlineFormSet
 from django.contrib.contenttypes.models import ContentType
 from django.contrib.admin import widgets
 from django.contrib.admin.util import quote, unquote, get_deleted_objects
-from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured, PermissionDenied
+from django.core.exceptions import PermissionDenied
 from django.db import models, transaction
 from django.http import Http404, HttpResponse, HttpResponseRedirect
 from django.shortcuts import get_object_or_404, render_to_response
@@ -262,10 +262,6 @@ class ModelAdmin(BaseModelAdmin):
         super(ModelAdmin, self).__init__()
 
     def __call__(self, request, url):
-        from django.conf import settings
-        if settings.DEBUG:
-            self.check_dependancies()
-
         # Delegate to the appropriate method, based on the URL.
         if url is None:
             return self.changelist_view(request)
@@ -278,23 +274,6 @@ class ModelAdmin(BaseModelAdmin):
         else:
             return self.change_view(request, unquote(url))
 
-    def check_dependancies(self):
-        """
-        Check that all things needed to run the admin have been correctly installed.
-        
-        The default implementation checks that LogEntry, ContentType and the
-        auth context processor are installed.
-        """
-        from django.conf import settings
-        from django.contrib.admin.models import LogEntry
-        
-        if not LogEntry._meta.installed:
-            raise ImproperlyConfigured("Put 'django.contrib.admin' in your INSTALLED_APPS setting in order to use the admin application.")
-        if not ContentType._meta.installed:
-            raise ImproperlyConfigured("Put 'django.contrib.contenttypes' in your INSTALLED_APPS setting in order to use the admin application.")
-        if 'django.core.context_processors.auth' not in settings.TEMPLATE_CONTEXT_PROCESSORS:
-            raise ImproperlyConfigured("Put 'django.core.context_processors.auth' in your TEMPLATE_CONTEXT_PROCESSORS setting in order to use the admin application.")
-
     def _media(self):
         from django.conf import settings
 
diff --git a/django/contrib/admin/sites.py b/django/contrib/admin/sites.py
index a83d8ec4d9..6477029fca 100644
--- a/django/contrib/admin/sites.py
+++ b/django/contrib/admin/sites.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ from django import http, template
 from django.contrib.admin import ModelAdmin
 from django.contrib.auth import authenticate, login
 from django.db.models.base import ModelBase
+from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
 from django.shortcuts import render_to_response
 from django.utils.safestring import mark_safe
 from django.utils.text import capfirst
@@ -112,6 +113,23 @@ class AdminSite(object):
         *at least one* page in the admin site.
         """
         return request.user.is_authenticated() and request.user.is_staff
+    
+    def check_dependancies(self):
+        """
+        Check that all things needed to run the admin have been correctly installed.
+
+        The default implementation checks that LogEntry, ContentType and the
+        auth context processor are installed.
+        """
+        from django.conf import settings
+        from django.contrib.admin.models import LogEntry
+
+        if not LogEntry._meta.installed:
+            raise ImproperlyConfigured("Put 'django.contrib.admin' in your INSTALLED_APPS setting in order to use the admin application.")
+        if not ContentType._meta.installed:
+            raise ImproperlyConfigured("Put 'django.contrib.contenttypes' in your INSTALLED_APPS setting in order to use the admin application.")
+        if 'django.core.context_processors.auth' not in settings.TEMPLATE_CONTEXT_PROCESSORS:
+            raise ImproperlyConfigured("Put 'django.core.context_processors.auth' in your TEMPLATE_CONTEXT_PROCESSORS setting in order to use the admin application.")
 
     def root(self, request, url):
         """
@@ -121,6 +139,9 @@ class AdminSite(object):
         """
         if request.method == 'GET' and not request.path.endswith('/'):
             return http.HttpResponseRedirect(request.path + '/')
+        
+        if settings.DEBUG:
+            self.check_dependancies()
 
         # Figure out the admin base URL path and stash it for later use
         self.root_path = re.sub(re.escape(url) + '$', '', request.path)