Super League pundit Jon Wilkin has made a case to move the Super League Grand Final away from Old Trafford in the coming years.
Manchester United’s stadium is synonymous with the Grand Final, with the event being held at the Theatre of Dreams every year since 1998, with the exception of the 2020 edition, which was played out at the MKM Stadium in Hull behind closed doors.
However, attendances have declined in recent years with 2017 being the last time the Grand Final came close to selling out the 74,310-seater stadium. Of course, Old Trafford will host the 2024 event in October and the hope is that there will be an increase in attendance from last season’s 58,137.
Wilkin, though, believes it is time for a change, with the former St Helens and Hull KR man pushing to move the final across the city of Manchester to the Etihad Stadium in an attempt to link up with and use the newly opened Co-op Live facility.
“I want us to move from Old Trafford,” Wilkin said on Sky Sports’ The Bench podcast. “This is not taking account the commercial and logistical restrictions that are put in place by moving the Grand Final to a different stadium, I understand these.
“What I would like to see is take it to the Etihad and next door to that is the Co-op Live arena. What I would then do is marry the Grand Final with an unbelievable, blockbuster concert like an Oasis, where all the events are all amalgamated into one. We have like a Super Bowl-style half-time show, Liam and Noel all that, Taylor Swift if that floats your boat.
“What we then do is that migrate all of that over to Co-op Live, we’ve then got other facilities that can be activated. You could have the Academy Grand Final, all of it on one site. A festival of rugby league over a full weekend that becomes a concert, it’s an event and venue that would be suited to more.”
Hull KR chief executive Paul Lakin was also on the podcast and he admitted something similar had been discussed.
“I think there’s a lot in that and more and more there should be a collaboration between sport and music,” he added. “I am with you on that.
“There’ll be all sorts of logistical issues but that sort of concept has been talked about and the Etihad has been mentioned.”
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James
September 2, 2024 at 6:10 pm
Taylor Swift???? Do me a favour. You could kiss goodbye to any possibility of a profit – unless the plan is to price most fans out of any chance of affording a ticket.
I’d love it. I’ve been a Rugby League supporter for most of my life and I’m a 70 year old Swiftie, but I’m also realistic about how much it would cost to get her, even if she was a fan of the game.
jaybs
September 3, 2024 at 9:06 am
Agreeing with Jon Wilkin, for a second time I need to see my Doctor, Old Trafford is in a sad state now, and Manchester United know that, moving to The Etihad would be a fresh start hpefully.