Magic Weekend set for record crowd?

The Magic Weekend is heading for a record crowd, according to Super League marketing director Mark Foster.

Speaking to Running Rugby, Foster revealed that the upper tier of the Etihad Stadium will be opened for the first time at the event, such has been the demand for tickets.

The record attendance for the weekend was set in 2012, when 63,716 attended the first event at the Etihad Stadium, while the best attended single day was the Sunday of the same year, when 32,953 came through the turnstiles.

Foster said: “It looks like we are going to open the upper tier of the Etihad for the first time ever at the Magic Weekend. The bottom two tiers are as good as sold out and because of the increased demand we are going to open the upper tier for the first time.

“The bottom two tiers hold around 31,000 to 32,000 people and that is around about the best ever crowd for a day at a Magic Weekend, so we still have 10 days to go and by opening the upper tier it at least looks like the Saturday will be the best ever attended day at a Magic Weekend.”

Foster is recently appointed to the role with Super League and the RFL, having previously been the marketing chief for the successful World Cup.

He added: “Following on from the World Cup there is a big belief out there among sports fans and event-goers that a big live rugby league event is great value for money and great entertainment and people are really buying into that.”

Since the inaugural Magic Weekend at the Millennium Stadium in 2007, the average weekend crowd has been 59,963.