At last someone with some common sense! Pieman wouldn't go if he had a free ticket and the weather was guaranteed to be 30 degrees. He would porbably complain it was too hot!

I dont think the main point is that the fans who go dont enjoy the event because most people do, its a good weekend away enjoying the sport we all love. The fact of the matter is as a concept playing a Magic weekend is a good idea, just not in a 70k+ stadium when for most of the day there's less than 20k in there.

May/June/July in a 40k stadium and it would be packed both days imo, especially if not as far away from the heartlands. These Magic weekends were never attracting massive amounts of new, local fans anyway so I dont see the point in playing it away from where most rugby league fans are based. COM or Elland Road would be perfect.

Using the same logic, the CC final would never have been moved to Wembley. The Magic weekend will never be played at COM or Elland Road. A special day out in East Manchester? You've got to be joking!

Got back late this afternoon after a bit of a nightmare train journey, ( broken down goods train in the middle of Shropshire ) let the train take the strain ? don't think so, I don't think this works in Feb, Cardiff centre was dead yesterday and wet, 60,000 over 2 days NEVER, looks a bad advert for the game to me with an empty stadium, if we have it, got to be in May , will not get any football grounds at this time of year, also it is expensive for the weekend, travel and accommodation not ticket prices.

The Challenge Cup attracts enough fans to near enough fill the stadium though so its completely different. The Magic weekend has been tried in 2 very large stadiums over 5 years and neither has ever been even half full.

Its not the "day out" thats important its the rugby league. If I was a non-rugby league fan flicking through the sports channels at the weekend I would think it laughable at how empty the stadium was and it wouldnt attract me to the sport in anyway. Watching a similar event but in a packed stadium would look so much better to the TV audience. As much as you're saying "yeh but the CC is played along way from the heartlands" it is a fact that a lot of people were put off this year by the distance, especially on a non-bank holiday weekend and playing it nearer to where the majority of RL fans live would increase attendances, I dont think thats even up for debate tbh.

You told me to bugger off to another sport because I said I wouldnt be going... I wasnt telling you to go to another sport, how hard is that for you to understand

do you not remember things you post?

yep your right, i was home and in front of the TV by half 6 waiting for the wigan saints match to kick off! that's after dropping everyone off all over warrington first! no way would i stay to watch other teams in cardiff, fair enough on TV, what's my incentive to stay, £5 for a effing hot dog, my 10 year old would have emptied my wallet in 60 secounds flat!

Expense ? Cheaper than normal for me
MM
£60 on fuel
£27 on a ticket
£50 on food and drink
£5.70 on the severn bridge

£142.70

Normal game
£120 on fuel
£17 on a ticket
£30 on food and drink
£10 M6 toll

£177.00

It's wire so yeah for me it's worth it

The atmosphere is always the same with the Wire fans (awesome) sat with wire fans then had a walk round cardiff then with the cas fans then with the saints fans(how quiet are they).

Well then, thats proof there is no grounds for anyone claiming the event has no atmosphere in the stadium.

We were singing well before our games and throughout. Just depends where you sit. I couldn't hear the wire fans from the second tier during their game but I could go and sit with them to absorb the atmosphere. I'm pretty sure some people would complain it was too loud if more people were in the ground.

The CC is for a trophy.

We had a top weekend - city centre hotel, rugby on call (didn't sit in the stadium for every game but saw Wire V Hudds, OURS, bit of Wakey, Leeds V Bradford and Hull V Hull KR) we had a great time and lets be honest 60,000 over the weekend is not bad at all for an 'away' trip, nothing on offer to win and i the freezing cold.

Get yourself down for a weekend rather than a really really long and knackering day trip and enjoy. Cardiff is a great city and I for one much prefer it to Edinburgh, its clean - everything is close together, nice little bars, loads of good places to eat. I could go on and on and on.

THANKS RFL!!! (and I don't say that very often!!!)

2 tickets £26.50
Coach Travel £45.00
Pack lunch x 2 (Grub cost £9.50 from asda)
Few Beers for me £20
Soft drinks for my lad, Free in engage lounge !

Total spent £101

If i drove down there it would cost me £104.40 in Fuel alone !

As has already been said it is what you make, i cant compare to previous magic events as this was my first, but thoroughly enjoyed it as did my son

Pretty pointless having it in the northwest IMO opinion, if there is anything else that can be done try offering London and Welsh amateur clubs tickets to get across to the stadium as these are extremely strong amateur areas.

The challenge cup is not different at all. The point I am making is that in 1930 the RFL made the innovative move to hold the CC final at Wembley which was attended by 43000 i.e. less than a half full stadium and this was the case for the first 10 years of the final in London. The first GF at Old Trafford was attended by 43000 and it has taken 10 years for it to become the must attend fixture it is today. It takes time for people's habits to change and catch on to an innovative event. The Magic weekend has always attracted attendances higher than both the examples I have described which have now become must attend events.

The 'day out' has always been a part of the CC final event. There is no other reason for taking the game to London. If it is just about the rugby league then it would be better held away from London.

The SL is also for a Trophy!

If you don't think the challenge cup is different you have no idea.

There has never been 43000 over two days for MM in the stadium at the same time and never will be. MM is a round of "away" league games and that explains why the attendance never matches an equivalent league round. Comparing aggregate attendance of all the games at MM to a challenge cup final is daft.

There is nothing at stake except 2 league points and so it will never match the CC or the GF.



Clearly it wouldn't be because it works in London from an attendance and PR point of view whereas from either point of view point of view MM doesn't.

Keep MM it's an alright day out
Keep the GF (united permitting) at OT
Keep the CC final at Wembley

Plus look into maybe a CC Quarter Final 4 games in one stadium, i reckon you'd fill a stadium no problem with that.
5-8 thousand from each team (worst case 40k best 64k) plus a few neutrals.

Maybe a double header for the CC semi too

The draw done at the end of the Quarter final straight after final whistle of last game

So why are people expecting there to be a huge crowd? Why are people not happy with 60k? I think it is pretty reasonable. The RFL make a load of money and RL fans have a great time.

Because it's nowhere near 60K? That's like counting a normal crowd at half time and again at full time, and adding the two together.

Not exactly, if people stayed for both days then they paid for both days. Many other people pay for the first day and then a whole new bunch of people pay for the second day. Not the same really is it.

I take your point but its not like most of the people who went stayed for the weekend is it?

These are the ideas the RFL should be looking at. Keep the magic weekend as it is for a few years now and let it have a chance to grow in Cardiff as its better than Edinburgh by far.

If you actually believe any of this rubbish then you are seriously deluded! So you reckon if the magic weekend is still in its current format in 5 years time there will be a full stadium? The Wembley final is for a trophy that is highly regarded and every player wants to win it. The Magic weekend is an added fixture tacked on to the regular SL season, surely you can see the difference!?

The Challenge Cup final is held at Wembley because it is the best stadium in the country and is required because it nearly sells out. Millennium/Murrayfield dont anywhere near sell out so the event doesnt need to be in such a large venue, which was my original point. My other point was that I thought it would work better as a summer event, which is why I suggested football stadia as it would be off-season.

It is just a cumulative total that is given though not a breakdown of actual tickets sold so it is misleading.

the final is

I suggest that you read my post more carefully before suggesting I am deluded. I have quoted facts. Which fact is rubbish? I know very well that the CC final sells out now but it didn't when it first moved there in 1930 when the stadium was less than half full. I am not suggesting that the Magic weekend will ever fill the stadium but with 60,000 attending it is more successful than people are making out. It is a festival event and should be treated accordingly. The GF only had 43000 attending in 1998 (fact) and the popularity has since grown. I believe that the 60k attending the Magic has the potential to grow to say 70k overall within a few years and that figure makes it worthwhile. There aren't that many more people watch RL in total every week so realistically it isn't going to grow much more. Only 60k attended the CC final in 1998 at Wembley! The same figure attended MM this year. FACT. If you find facts delusional then I am wasting my time trying to have sensible debate.