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Super League’s big summer roadshow returns for its 20th edition when Magic Weekend breaks both new ground in Liverpool and a whole host of records at Hill Dickinson Stadium likely bringing a sigh of relief that the concept was given a stay of execution.
Some clubs wanted Magic gone from the calendar and replaced with events such as a Nines festival or even replacing it with an on-the-road event for the Challenge Cup quarter-finals. But those critics will be silenced this weekend when more than 80,000 supporters head to Merseyside: 10,000 more than the previous best crowd for Magic a decade ago in Newcastle.
There will be high-profile attendees among that figure too to watch an entire round of fixtures inside one stadium; the Guardian understands the possible future prime minister Andy Burnham will be in attendance on Saturday to watch Leigh Leopards take on Warrington Wolves in the final game of day one.
Super League’s decision to return to local derbies for the format as well as going to Everton – a venue popular during last autumn’s Ashes – appears to have breathed new life into Magic. There is often a discussion about where the event could go next year or whether it will be scrapped: but the Guardian understands it will remain at Everton in 2027 due to high demand this year.
“There was debate about Magic but I’m glad we presented and delivered on our rationale to maintain it,” Rhodri Jones, the managing director of RL Commercial, explains. “We knew Everton would be a success and it’s proof the concept does work. There is now competition in the market because the usual destinations are asking what we’re doing next year.”
Blockbuster derbies including Hull FC v Hull KR, Leeds versus Bradford and Wigan against St Helens, the latter of which closes the weekend’s action, are on the billing after some uninspiring fixture picks in recent years. It may just be a weekend of fixtures in one location but for Super League it is an opportunity to showcase and sell itself on a grander stage.
“It’s blown us away a little bit,” Jones says. “We knew Everton would be popular, we saw that from the Ashes, but the derbies format coming back has whetted the appetite and timing has helped with it being away from our other events too.” This is an opportune moment for Super League to deliver big numbers too as the sport enters a pivotal summer.
Super League and Sky Sports are in the final stages of negotiating a new broadcast deal which simply must go up to alleviate financial pressures on clubs. The last deal did not even rise with inflation and was worth just £20m per year to the sport; half of what it was getting a decade earlier and dwarfed further by news the NRL has just agreed a seven-year deal worth $5bn.
An announcement, it seems, is due later this month. “We’re aware of the pressures in and around the game,” Jones says. “The game needs more money hence the recapitalisation project [with the NRL]. We’re fully aware of the pressers around the game. We’re hopeful we’ll get a conclusion in the next couple of weeks.”
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The value of that deal will shape the very future of not just Super League, but rugby league in the northern hemisphere. Clubs are losing more money than ever and if the deal does not significantly go up, it raises valid questions about whether Super League can sustain 14 elite clubs just one year on from expanding from 12.
The landscape of the competition is also waiting with bated breath to discover whether talks over potential NRL investment will materialise. They have undoubtedly stalled due to both competitions aiming to sign off on their respective broadcast deals but appear set to accelerate again in the coming weeks.
“We’ve presented them with our northern hemisphere strategy documents this week,” Jones reveals. “There were some red lines between us both but the time we spent in Australia [in May] has got us beyond those. I’m confident we’re still moving in the right direction there and the document we’ve sent will sit well with them.”
Perhaps therefore, with both those crucial outcomes looming, there has never been a better time for Super League to look as good as it will this weekend. The question is whether Magic will be a one-off, or a window into a more sustained, long-term brighter future for rugby league. How Super League looks – and is valued – by the end of the summer will answer that question.
