Rugby showcase back in St James’ Park

Article posted by Coliseum, December 1^st, 2024

Image: St. James' Park, yellow book ltd, CC BY 2.0

The 2025 edition of Super League’s (rugby) Magic Weekend will return to the Premier League team Newcastle United F.C.’s home venue – the St James’ Park in Newcastle upon Tyne, England (UK) – following a year at the Championship team Leeds United F.C.’s abode – the Elland Road Stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

‘BBC SPORT’ stated that the event, which was first held in 2007, will take place on the first May Bank Holiday weekend from May 3^rd-4^th.

The Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred [a bookmaker based in the United Kingdom] and legally known as the Super League Europe Limited) is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present, the league consists of 12 teams, of which 11 are from Northern England reflecting the sport’s geographic heartland within the United Kingdom and one from Southern France.

The Magic Weekend (known as the Betfred Magic Weekend for sponsorship reasons) is an annual event organized by the Rugby Football League (the governing body for rugby league in England) in which an entire round of Super League matches is played over a weekend at a single stadium to promote the sport of rugby league.

The St James’ Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England (UK). It is the home of the Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,350 seats, it is the eighth-largest football stadium in England. The St James’ Park has been the home ground of the Newcastle United since 1892 and has been used for football since 1880.

‘BBC SPORT’ further stated that the St James’ Park first held the Magic Weekend in 2015 and has held the event seven times in total alongside the Premier League team Liverpool F.C.’s the 61,276-capacity Anfield Stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, England – playing host in 2019.

The Leigh Leopards (a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England) will face the Catalans Dragons (a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales Department, France) in the first fixture on May 3^rd with the Castleford Tigers (a professional rugby league club in West Yorkshire, England) match against the Wakefield Trinity (a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England) on May 4^th rounding off the weekend.

2024’s beaten Super League Grand Finalists Hull KR (a professional rugby league team in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England) will take on the Salford Red Devils (a professional rugby league club in Salford, England) on May 3^rd before the St Helens R.F.C. (a professional rugby league club in St Helens, Merseyside, England) face the Leeds Rhinos (a professional rugby league club in Leeds, England) in the final match of the first day.

May 4^th will open with the Huddersfield Giants (a professional rugby league club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England) taking on the Hull F.C. (a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England) followed by the champions Wigan Warriors (an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester) coming up against the Warrington Wolves (a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England).

After the cancellation of the 2020 edition due to the coronavirus pandemic, the St James’ Park hosted the event for another three successive campaigns before its move to Leeds in August of this year.

Remarked Rhodri Jones, Rugby League Commercial Managing Director, “The feedback from our fans regarding a return to the North East has been overwhelmingly positive. We have worked with the Newcastle United, the Newcastle City Council and the NE1 to identify the May Bank Holiday weekend as the ideal slot.”

The NE1 is the Business Improvement District (BID) for the Newcastle City Center. The BID is an independent company that manages projects to improve the City, attract visitors and make it a safe and welcoming place to live and work.

Added Darren Eales, Newcastle United head honcho, “The stadium and the City have proven to be incredibly popular across previous Magic Weekend events with fans of the Super League clubs being joined by many more who are new to the sport. Together with our City partners we look forward to welcoming the rugby league community back to the North East for an unforgettable weekend.”

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