Quote: chubbs1981 "Wasn't the whole point if the magic weekend to increase the interest in rl in what are traditionally non rl areas? Hence Cardiff which has spawned 2 pro welsh teams and a great uptake amongst players and the performance of Wales in the euro cup.
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No.
The whole point of the original Millennium Magic was the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff and the South Wales Tourist board realising that with Wembley reopening they were losing the FA Cup Final, Football League Playoffs and RL Challenge Cup final and wanting some big event to replace it: hence they approached the RFL and said: "if we give you half a million, will you bring an event to the Millennium Stadium". The point of the (non-Millennium) Magic Weekend is the Edinburgh equivalents taking a look at Cardiff and making a better offer (helped by the fact that the RFL felt the WRU, stadium and tourist board weren't doing enough to publicise the Cardiff event, coupled with complaints about the way hotels were hiking up prices).
So it's purpose is three-fold:
1) to bring much-needed cash into the game
2) to raise the profile of the sport by having a whole round of fixtures on TV (and to a lesser extent by taking a whole round of fixtures 'one the road')
3) to build a 'festival' of top-flight rugby league and provide another 'event' weekend for fans (alongside the Cup Final and Grand Final) where every SL fan gets a chance to see their team taking part.