Jimbo78

Tbf that game was against Bradford so even though their may have not been a 4k+ crowd in attendance had it not been played on the Friday before MW it would have still attracted a healthy crowd. As a born and bred Geordie who had no previous interest in Rugby League until I was hooked by Magic Weekend being hosted here I started following Widnes Vikings 3 years ago after the first MW (thanks to them supporting the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation) and have travelled down to Widnes several times to watch them play. However just last month with us being at a bit of a loose end and with the weather being nice and hot we decided to go and watch Newcastle Thunder v Whitehaven to fill in a Sunday afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it. Very good, entertaining game, friendly atmosphere and my 5 year old son got a high five off all the Thunder players at full time which he was absolutely buzzing about! He begged us to take him to the next game, which we did, and I'm pleased to say he seems hooked on it. He even managed to persuade us to buy him a replica top which he never has off his back and we've also bought half season tickets for the rest of this season. There's a huge catchment area up here and it's great to see the club growing from what it was just a few years ago. Hopefully it continues.

My local team, Newcastle Thunder seem to be bucking the trend and attendances have increased massively in recent years to a very decent 1,289. https://www.thunderrugby.co.uk/general/crowds-on-the-rise-at-newcastle-thunder/

I live on Newcastle and it's fair to say that most people don't even know it's happening up here. Advertising has basically been non existent. At work yesterday people were asking If I had any plans for the weekend and when I said I was off to MW at St James' I was met with blank looks. It'll never grow as long as people don't know about it.

I've got 3 tickets for this and now, due to work commitments, not going to be able to to make it. Anyone wanting them (free of charge) drop me a message with your address and I'll pop them in the post 1st class for you. Tickets now taken. Thanks.

Tremendous spirit in this Castleford team mind.

Not sure if there's any official figures available but Widnes, Wire, Wigan, Castleford and Hull FC seemed to have a good following, Leeds didn't have as many as last year and St Helens and Hull KR didn't seem to bring many at all.

Totally agree. It showcases RL right across the country this way. The only tweak I would make is to have MW on the bank holiday which would give the Sunday a big boost in terms of attendance. Thought there was a far bigger turnout of locals this year compared to last but some of the teams brought far fewer fans this time.

Sunderland city centre is an absolute dump, there are very few hotels and their train station isn't on a main line.

Most of the locals went along to cheer on Widnes. Expect Widnes v Salford to be the best supported match again this time round.

I live in Newcastle and there's been a distinct lack of publicity about it all compared to last year. No posters around the city and next to no coverage in the local press although someone posted on Facebook earlier this week showing workmen putting up huge banners over St James' Park for it. To be honest I think Newcastles relegation fight has took centre stage in the past few weeks and all talk of the Magic Weekend has been put on the back burner for the time being. However last seasons MW was voted the number one sporting occasion in the North East last season, beating the likes of the Great North Run and the Rugby Union World cup and was very well received up here so I'd be amazed if the attendance isn't as least as good as last year, hopefully higher. It's hardly a scientific servey but I know quite a few people who didn't go last year but heard about how good it was so are going this year.

Whitley Bay caravan park (think it's a Haven site) still have caravans available for 3 nights over the MW for £197 which is obviously pretty cheap when you divide that up by however many people are staying in it. The 308 bus runs right past it every 15 minutes and it'll take 20 minutes to get into Newcastle. Just thought I'd add this for people struggling to find reasonably priced accommodation. Another bonus is that it's just up the coast from Tynemouth which is an excellent night out.

It was voted the best Sporting event to be held in Newcastle last year, beating the likes of the Great North run and the Rugby Union World Cup games that St James' Park hosted. http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/other-sport/rugby-league/magic-weekend-takes-north-east-10740875

Obviously the Bobby Robson black and white charity shirt at the MW is what got the Tyneside public, me included, interested in Widnes Vikings. Also they really seemed to embrace our Region and did other things that didn't get the same publicity, the coaching class at Cramlington spring to mind. To be honest, and I hope the Thunder fans don't mind me saying this, but Tyneside has never really been a Rugby League area and it wasn't a sport I'd taken any great interest in until last year. Even when it was announced that the MW was to be held here I didn't really have any real interest in attending but when word got about what Widnes were doing it got me, and probably a good few thousand more interested and clearly the support they received on the day showed that they had all the local support right behind them and they are probably the reason that record attendances were recorded for the event. Personally I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed it, as did seemingly everyone else who attended, and I've followed the Vikings since then. Apparently over 4% of supporters on their database now have a Tyneside postcode which is fantastic for them and for Rugby League in general as they've managed to tap into a previously untapped market. It would be nice if Thunder could also benefit from this mind. I'll be at the game on Saturday and I'm going to attend a few more games throughout the season because realistically I'll only get to 3 Vikings home games next season (the Sunday ones). Anyway let's hope for an entertaining game on Sunday and successful seasons for both clubs!

Anyone know how much Sky pay for the privilege of messing around with the fixture list so much?

The Etihad will have a capacity of 62k in 2-3 years time.