St James’ Park Confirmed as Host for 2025 Magic Weekend

Newcastle United’s St James’ Park holds the record for the highest single day and aggregate attendances during a Magic Weekend. The 2025 edition of Super League’s Magic Weekend will return to Newcastle United’s St James’ Park, following a year at Leeds United’s Elland Road. This event, which was first held in 2007, is scheduled to take place on the first May Bank Holiday weekend, from May 3-4. St James’ Park initially hosted Magic Weekend in 2015 and has since hosted the event seven times in total. Liverpool’s Anfield also served as a host venue in 2019. Leigh Leopards will face Catalans Dragons in the first fixture on Saturday, May 3, with Castleford’s match against Wakefield on Sunday, May 4, concluding the weekend. On Saturday, Hull KR, who were the beaten Super League Grand Finalists in 2024, will compete against Salford Red Devils. This will be followed by St Helens facing Leeds Rhinos in the final match of the first day. Sunday’s schedule will open with Huddersfield Giants taking on Hull FC, followed by the champions Wigan Warriors coming up against Warrington Wolves, before Castleford Tigers and Wakefield Trinity close proceedings. After the cancellation of the 2020 edition due to the Coronavirus pandemic, St James’ Park hosted the event for another three successive campaigns before its move to Leeds in August of this year. The kick-off times for the matches will be announced when the full fixture list for 2025 is released at 08:00 GMT on Thursday. Rugby League Commercial Managing Director Rhodri Jones stated, “The feedback from our fans regarding a return to the North East has been overwhelmingly positive.” He added, “We have worked with Newcastle United, Newcastle City Council and NE1 to identify the May Bank Holiday weekend as the ideal slot.” Newcastle United CEO Darren Eales further commented: “The stadium and city have proven to be incredibly popular across previous Magic Weekend events, with fans of Super League clubs being joined by many more who are new to the sport.“Together with our city partners, we look forward to welcoming the rugby league community back to the North East for an unforgettable weekend.” The schedule for Saturday, May 3, 2025, includes: Leigh Leopards v Catalans Dragons Hull KR v Salford Red Devils St Helens v Leeds Rhinos For Sunday, May 4, 2025, the fixtures are: Huddersfield Giants v Hull FC Wigan Warriors v Warrington Wolves Castleford Tigers v Wakefield Trinity