THE Championship’s Summer Bash will head to York in 2023 for its ninth year.
After a year at Leeds Rhinos’ Headingley Stadium, there were calls for the Summer Bash to refer back to Blackpool’s Bloomfield Road which had held the event since 2015.
However, RFL organisers have revealed that Bloomfield Road is unavailable for 2023, hence the move to York’s LNER Community Stadium.
The RFL stated: “The Summer Bash was first played in 2015 at Bloomfield Road in Blackpool which remained the venue until 2019.
“It has not been available in 2022, when the Bash was played at Headingley, or in 2023, hence the move to York.”
It will be interesting to see what kind of take-up there will be for the event being held at York, with Leeds’ Headingley producing the smallest overall crowd since the concept was created almost a decade ago.
The York club themselves will go up against Featherstone Rovers who missed out on a place in the Championship Grand Final in 2022 due to a shock defeat to Batley Bulldogs.
Saturday May 27
Widnes Vikings v Swinton Lions, Whitehaven v Barrow Raiders, London Broncos v Toulouse Olympique, Featherstone Rovers v York Knights
Sunday May 28
Newcastle Thunder v Sheffield Eagles, Halifax Panthers v Batley Bulldogs, Keighley Cougars v Bradford Bulls, York Valkyrie v Warrington Wolves (Betfred Women’s Super League)
Viaplay Sports have confirmed that they will cover two fixtures – London Broncos v Toulouse Olympique and Featherstone Rovers v York Knights.
