Five eye-catching new venues for Magic Weekend

It’s Magic Weekend down under in the NRL and 16 of the 17 teams are headed to Brisbane to play their respective games, a far more exciting prospect than Elland Road in August for Super League – but what other venues could realistically host Magic Weekend?

Since its inception, Magic Weekend has been incredibly popular with fans and clubs, so much so that the NRL poached the idea and have made it into their own. Whilst they take theirs to new levels, Super League seem to have dropped their own levels.

The event initially kicked off in Cardiff before it went to Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool, back to Newcastle, and now for the 2024 season to Leeds. Everything you need to know about the 2024 edition of Magic Weekend can be found here.

Whilst the NRL have successfully sold their Magic Weekend in Brisbane, despite the fact both Brisbane Broncos and The Dolphins are based in that city, the reception for Magic Weekend in Leeds at Elland Road has been relatively flat among fans.

St James Park had started to become a true home for the event but was unavailable for 2024, however, it could be considered once again in 2025. But what other venues could and should be considered? Serious About Rugby League picks five eyecatching destinations for the sport’s best weekend event.

Magic Weekend on the road: Which city should host the event next?

Las Vegas – Allegiant Stadium

It’s a laughable thought to some but there have been talks that America is where Super League intends to head and what better way than to take Magic Weekend to the States?

The NRL took their opening games to Las Vegas and with great success and with Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium not in regular use by the NFL team Las Vegas Raiders during the summer months, it could be a perfect destination.

Whether, both the NRL and Super League take their Magic Weekend events there for a bumper festival of rugby, or if it would be a sole venture is another question. But given the traction that the game is garnering over there and the recent reports, it’s something to ponder.

Toronto – BMO Stadium

Remember Toronto? Second time lucky maybe?

Toronto was the RFL and Super League’s first venture into trans-Atlantic rugby league and it wasn’t a particularly successful one. However, with the BBC’s report earlier this week regarding the prospects of a season opener in North America also claiming that that “some Super League bosses are keen on regular season matches being part of a tie-up too”, then it’s clearly not out of the question.

Liverpool – Goodison Park

Back to far more realistic territory here and a city that Magic Weekend has been to before, however, this time it would be a different venue. That’s because Everton Football Club’s new stadium is set to be complete by the end of 2024.

Everton themselves will transition to the new stadium for the 2025/26 season and with the ground having a capacity that is very similar to St James Park, clocking in at 52,888, it would be a sensible transition.

A more modern ground, the return to a popular city and a plus that neither Las Vegas or Toronto boast, considerably closer and cheaper for the fans.

Dublin – Aviva Stadium

Magic Weekend has gone to Cardiff and Edinburgh, so why not Dublin? Obviously, Dublin isn’t one of the four capitals within the United Kingdom but the Republic of Ireland boasts a strong rugby league culture.

Dublin is also one of Europe’s most lively cities with lots to do outside of the rugby that would make it a popular destination. Aviva Stadium or Lansdowne Road as it will be remembered by some is another with a similar capacity at St James, this time 51,711, and it is within a stone’s throw of the city centre.

Barcelona – Camp Nou

One final bold shout for a brilliant weekend away, but is it as outrageous as initially thought? Barcelona’s premier stadium is a mecca for football fans but it has hosted a rugby league game.

Camp Nou hosted a clash between Catalans Dragons and Wigan Warriors back in 2019, breaking the single-game record for attendance at the time with 26,241 people watching the game.Obviously, the stadium can hold a far larger capacity than that and if all twelve teams from Super League were to descend on the city then it could become quite a spectacle.

With Barcelona just over the border from Perpignan, and many Super League travelling fans actually flying into Barcelona when attending Catalans games, it’s a logistically sound enterprise. However, sadly finance comes into the equation with fans having to stump up the cash for flights but sunny Spain trumps Elland Road any day right?