SUPER LEAGUE’S Magic Weekend has been deemed “successful” at Elland Road by RL Commercial chief Rhodri Jones.
There was a great deal of controversy when RL Commercial announced that Leeds United would be hosting the showpiece event in 2024 after previously successful years in Newcastle.
However, Jones believes that they have “proved the doubters wrong” with the weekend of rugby league.
“We’ve had a successful weekend. We have had over 50,000 people here. We had 30,000 in here on Saturday and 20,000 for the first game which we think is a record for the first game of the weekend,” Jones said.
“We have metrics in terms of attendances and we hope that we have given Sky Sports viewers entertainment across the six games.
“Perhaps on the field they haven’t been as competitive as history has showed us but we have offered six games of Super League this weekend.
“I think we have proved some of the doubters wrong because we have got over 50,000 here this weekend.
“I know when we announced Elland Road it wasn’t seemed to be the right venue, I appreciate it’s not a destination venue.
“We have sold a lot of hospitality and commercial revenue and the Learning Disability Super League got the biggest round of applause across the weekend.”
So what was the initial attendance target?
“The target was about 50,000 if I’m being honest. It’s understandable with the layout of the stadium, it’s smaller than Newcastle so for us, over 50,000 was a positive for us.”
So what does constitute a success?
“We look at various metrics – there is a commercial element: does the weekend make a profit? The answer to that is yes, we service our broadcast contract and our partners.
“Do we have the ability to commercialise our weekend more? Absolutely, and that’s what is missing at the moment.
“We are realistic about that. We provide a platform for players to play in front of a big crowd. In terms of that, it is a success.”
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