Manchester has been historically a strong RL area. in addition to Salford, Swinton who used to be a big time team in a big time stadium. There was a strong team in Broughton until the 1950s. Oldham, on the fringes of eastern Manchester were also a big time team until the last couple of decades.

The decline of these teams and the growing dominance to football has psuhed the prominence of RL in Manchester into the background.

The new Salford stadium and the steady improvement of Reds might be the start of a resurgence of the game in the area. If Swinton get their new stadium at Agecroft and stabilise in the Championship and if Oldham can get it together these factors will help also. The Magic weekend in Manchester, The grand final in Manchester and the World Cup final in Manchester can all help us to regain lost ground in the metropolis, with the media attention they bring to the game. This can only be a good thing . Manchester was on the verge of becoming a RL wasteland and the game needs a succesful presence there.

My preference would be elsewhere but that is by the by, the poster stated that we should hold it in Manchester to help development was laughable.

Lets be honest, if we couldn't get a good crowd in our own back yard then we should give up and go and watch soccer.

I don't think they were saying that as such, more that [usome[/u benefits of holding it in Manchester would be to build upon the recent success of the grassroots setup in the city & to take advantage of the BBC's relocation etc.

I'd hardly call Manchester our own back yard, more like a couple of doors down's back yard. For mine, I think it's a great idea to hold it in Manchester as it will tempt the non attendees of the further afield Magics out of their holes and get them interested in the concept.

Much preferred Manchester than Cardiff, not because it was a weekend away (I live 22 miles from Cardiff) but it felt much more concentrated than in Cardiff. Great competative games for the neutral also (barring Widnes and Broncos).

I don't think the magic weekend will ever work as a means of attracting new fans. Its overkill, new specCies are unlikely to be attracted by the prospect of watching several hours of a sport that they've not watched before. Even diehard fans struggle to watch more than a couple of games.

It should be accepted for what it is, a novelty weekend with a greater emphasis on the social side.

Not always the case. I was sat next to a group of about 40 school students, most of whom weren't already fans but who sat through three games on Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Talked to a few 12-13 year-olds amongst them who said they would definitely like to see more.

One thing puzzles me about this Magic weekend. Why is it being regarded as such a success compared to previous ones? It was slapbang in the middle of the heartlands, we had absolutely fantastic whether and some great games but it was only marginally better attended than previous ones. Why is this one was then a success, despite having so many more advantages, than the ones that had gone before it?

Because sports marketing (especially when Sky are involved) is all about hype.

I appreciate that and that is something that RL has always suffered from, or lack of it to be precise. However why has this one been hyped up and not the others?

In fairness the RFL will know exactly how many different people bought tickets so maybe that's how they're gauging success whereas at Cardiff and Edinburgh it may have largely been the same people attending both days?

Absolutely loved yesterday. think the weather really helped, but i think the Stadium having it's own area really helped create a carnival atmosphere.