Coastal_Geordie

You can’t sell say 35k tickets for a 25k stadium on the assumption that less than 30k will be seated at once. Would never past safety etc. You are always going to need the maximum number if doing the Magic multi game format. As a biased Geordie - I don’t think another large stadium in the country compares to St James from a fan experience perspective. The stadiums noted some are in really poor locations in their cities. The quality of the location in Newcastle is unmatched with amount of bars, restaurants, hotels in a one mile radius. Aware I am completely biased though!

ABK are not a sponsor of Newcastle United and you can’t buy it in the ground. It is mainly Madri and Carling for lager at St James. All the sponsors on the boards were bespoke to magic weekend. Never seen Flamingo Land or Northern Rail when NUFC are playing!

They did send out emails to all Newcastle United members offering tickets 20% off. I was sat in Platinum Club and there were a few Geordie accents and the odd NUFC kit. Definitely majority Yorkshire/Lancashire accents though. One strange thing where I think Super League missed a trick was the merchandise. The Super League kit was relatively expensive, but they had NRL hats for fairly good value. I bought a Roosters woolly hat for £8. Surely as a neutral though - you want to try sell me a Super League hat? i can’t imagine going to a Premier League match and they are flogging La Liga merchandise. Seemed odd. My son wanted a Leigh shirt but they didn’t seem to be selling them, only Oxen kits including England (who let’s face it weren’t playing) and loads of NRL shirts. Seemed poorly thought through from the merch side.

Really enjoyed this, errors from both sides but made an exciting game. Leigh fans seemed to be everywhere in NE1 today.

Essentially Premiership Rugby are terrified a fourth team is going to go pop, with no replacement available. The investor/owner essentially pulled out of funding the Falcons at the same time he dropped the Thunder (I guess can’t blame him, his choice to stop losing money across both operations). No one wants to buy the Falcons who have a “recruitment freeze” meaning the weakest squad on the league will be propped up by others to be even worse next season. Super League actually looks in great health compared to Premiership Rugby.

I imagine Keary regrets his comments on reflection. Im not sure how well they will go down with the likes of Tomkins, Whitehead. May come out and say he was misquoted. If he stands by his comments he is a fool. I can’t imagine e.g. Lionel Messi out playing in Miami saying he can’t believe that the NFL, MLB, NBA get more coverage than the MLS and how appalled he is. Not that Keary is the Messi of his sport.

Was really looking forward to this but can’t see a path to Warrington getting a result with the injuries.

Saints may edge it with a healthier squad available. Predict Saints forwards to step up and show why (on paper) they remain a class group. Welsby to remind everyone how good he is, I think he enjoys playing at St James. Leeds have looked more resilient this season though! Expect it to to be competitive but think Saints have the better squad available this week.

Hull KR exhibition match, might step outside the ground for something to eat after the first 4 tries go in without reply.

Big Joe O in the squad for Leigh. Excited to hopefully see him up against Pangai Jr in the flesh. Catalans look better on paper than in real life and I think Lam/Ipape in the spine for Leigh will make the difference. At some point you would think Mr Negative Luke Keary will show his ability. Tomkins returning too still has class. Hopefully an exciting competitive first game of the day.

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/magic-weekend-2026-plans-revealed-as-2025-crowd-update-provided Personally delighted if it stays in NE1 again next year. I don’t think there is a better solution from a commercial or fan perspective (assuming Magic continues which is a debate in itself). Really looking forward to Leigh-Catalans and St Helens-Leeds on Saturday in particular. Both should be competitive games.

Yes

To be fair it’s always 60k to 68k at Newcastle, usually with 10kish more on Saturday than Sunday. I’ve been to almost all of them at St James. Wigan, Leeds and Hull FC always travel in big numbers. Hull KR, Wakefield and Castleford always seem to bring a crowd too. Salford seem to bring lower numbers, Huddersfield bring next to no one and Catalans even less than no one. Sunday definitely looks to have more teams who will bring numbers. Saturday always has the bigger gate though. Maybe the bank holiday Monday will help Sunday too. I reckon will be more evenly full across both days, but wouldn’t be surprised to see Sunday busier for once.

Presume Warrington too? For me right now, as an armchair fan, Leigh looks one if the best on TV. They are possibly the side I’ve enjoyed watching most last few years. I think they would be a real loss.

I’ve not followed this very closely and tried to read a few articles. Is what is being suggested essentially… 1. Catalans 2. Toulouse 3. Wigan 4. St Helens 5. Leeds 6. Warrington 7. Hull KR 8. Hull FC … with slots 9. & 10. to be fought out between Leigh, Huddersfield, Castleford, Wakefield and (as unlikely as it seems right now) Salford? Then also potentially London Broncos fighting/being allocated a slot too? What then happens to say Huddersfield, Castleford and Wakefield if they miss out and are locked out? i think Leigh have been a breath of fresh air in Super League past few years. Castleford although struggling right now have a real identity and history of competing with the bigger boys in the past. Wakefield really feel to be on the up. Less teams will only work if we have less games? Which I can’t see. I suppose what we are talking about is a total reimagining of the competition. Bit of a ramble but all appears confusing though appreciate it is all speculation at this stage.