IMG should “make sure” Newcastle has a team in Super League, according to former Sky Sports pundit Mike ‘Stevo’ Stephenson.
The Thunder have been making waves in recent years, earning promotion from League One before staking their claim as a solid Championship side.
However, Stevo believes that the new stakeholders, IMG, should make sure that the north east has a top-flight presence particularly because of the likelihood of the Magic Weekend being scrapped.
“I just can’t believe that people who are running IMG, who are supposed to be the guidelines of our future, can just say we don’t want it (the Magic Weekend),” Stevo said on the Eddie and Stevo podcast.
“If the Australians did exactly the same thing they would back a Newcastle team and I’m talking about back them with money. Make sure they get there.”
Despite Newcastle being a predominantly football city, Stevo believes that the football off-season could help more fans flock to rugby league.
“We know it’s difficult because they’re mad soccer up there, we understand that, but if you give them time people will start to come.
“Remember, we play in the summer, so what do the soccer teams and supporters do (when their season ends)? Well, we’ll go and watch Newcastle rugby league,” Stevo continued.
Stevo referenced the example of London Broncos when they almost struck a deal with then Championship side Charlton Athletic.
“I can remember years ago when the London Broncos were playing at Charlton and they were just on the verge of making a season ticket so you could watch both.
“They were just about to launch it and Charlton got promoted to the top tier and of course the top tier said you can’t have two teams playing on that pitch, so sadly they had to go elsewhere.
“But that’s the type of thing we have to be looking at. Trouble is where are we going to get the money from?”
