Date lined up as Super League Magic Weekend set for Newcastle return

Magic Weekend is one of the premier events in Super League and it could be set to return to St James Park after a year hiatus.

There has been plenty of talk about where Magic Weekend will go next after the event recorded the second-lowest attendance in its history this year when it was held at Elland Road.

Now, it looks likely that Newcastle could be back on the schedule with a member of the City Council confirming that ‘negotiations’ are ongoing and that there’s a belief that a date has been found to “suit all parties”, as initially reported by ITV Tyne Tees.

The date for the event was the major sticking point this year with the RFL reshuffling the Rugby League calendar to bring the Challenge Cup forward in the year and push the Super League Magic Weekend later in the year.

That saw Magic Weekend occur in the middle of August, as opposed to its more traditional slot around late May or early June as in recent years. Unfortunately, Newcastle United, who play at St James Park could not accommodate that but it now seems that talks to return to Tyneside are going well.

Will Super League Magic Weekend return to Newcastle?

Rugby League Commercial Managing Director Rhodri Jones named Newcastle as a possible venue for the event when he discussed locations for 2025, with cities such as Nottingham, Dublin and Cardiff also named.

Explaining why Newcastle didn’t host in 2024 but could in 2025, Jones said: “One of the reasons why we’re not in Newcastle this year is the unavailability of St James’s … we’ve been there for seven years, so clearly there’s live conversation there.”

That has now been confirmed by Jim Mawdsley, Newcastle City Council’s principal adviser on events and culture, who explained to a scrutiny committee meeting the status of talks.

Per ITV, Mawdsley said: “We are in negotiations with Rugby League Super League about bringing Magic Weekend back to the city. The reason we didn’t have it this year was because we couldn’t find a date at St James’ Park, due to Rugby League changing its schedule.

“But we believe at this point that we may have found a date [in 2025] to suit all parties.”

It is believed that the targetted date is the August bank holiday weekend, which would fit in line with the RFL’s rescheduled calendar and desire to hold the event later in the season. That would be the weekend of the 23rd and 24th, approximately a week later than the event was held this season in Round 23 of Super League.

Newcastle’s local Labour councillor Dan Greenhough urged for the event to return as he critiqued the 2024 edition, noting: “It was a bit of a damp squib this year in Leeds – and I say that as a Yorkshireman. I would be very proud to see it brought back to Newcastle and we know how much it brings into the local economy.”