SUPER LEAGUE’S Magic Weekend is one of the great concepts created by the sport.
With its inaugural year in 2007 in Cardiff, Magic Weekend has lived on for 16 years and has since found a home in Newcastle.
However, if the concept was ever taken away from St James’ Park, where could potential other options be found?
Manchester – Etihad Stadium
The Etihad Stadium already has experience with hosting the Magic Weekend, with the home of Manchester City doing so in 2012, 2013 and 2014 before being moved to Newcastle. Of course, after three years, the concept lost its magic at the Etihad and so moved around, but it would be interesting to see if that magic would return after almost a ten-year hiatus. With great transport links and an incredible fan park, the Etihad is ideally suited to hosting rugby league’s major concept – and it is close by for most of the M62 corridor teams.
Nottingham – City Ground
The city of Nottingham is beautiful with a number of visitor attractions including the City of Caves and Wollaton Hall and Park whilst its location just outside the heartlands of the sport would be sure to appeal to rugby league fans who have yet to visit the city. The City Ground itself holds just over 30,000 people which would see it likely sell out – something which has not yet happened for the Magic Weekend event – with transport links to Nottingham superb. It also wouldn’t cost a bomb for supporters given its not-so-far distance from the M62 corridor. If it is time to take it somewhere new, where else would be better?
London – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
There is no hiding from the fact that London is an untapped source of rugby league. With great crowd and ticket sales in the capital for the Rugby League World Cup, IMG are keen to increase the presence of the sport in the UK’s biggest city. Bringing Magic Weekend to London would be an interesting experiment, especially as it could prompt neutrals in the city to see what the fuss is all about. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would also be a perfect host given its proximity to the railway and tube system as well as central to most amenities in the city. Plus, it already has experience from hosting the Challenge Cup Final in 2022 which was a major success.
Birmingham – St Andrews’
If London is an untapped rugby league source then so is the Midlands. In recent years, the Midlands Hurricanes have made steady progress on and off the field, with 2023 seeing the club sell a record number of season tickets as enthusiasm on the ground takes off. Bringing the Magic Weekend to a city full of restaurants, bars and great transport links would certainly help grow that enthusiasm amongst the Black Country. St Andrews’ itself holds just shy of 30,000 which would mean a sell-out would be likely on both days – even better on camera.
Coventry – Coventry Building Society Arena
If Birmingham isn’t the way forward then Coventry could be the tonic in the Midlands. The Coventry Building Society Arena holds just under 33,000 for rugby league and football matches which would again prove perfect for a sellout. Coventry has been an area which has often flirted with rugby league internationals with the Ricoh hosting a fixture during the Rugby League World Cup. Handing the Magic Weekend to the vibrant city would go someway to ensuring that rugby league does really take hold in the Midlands. It would certainly prove to be an interesting choice.