Challenge Cup needs to be earlier in the season. As it is now you probably get some teams taking the cup off to concentrate more on the league. That isn't going to happen if the final is in April or May. The huge decline in attendances isn't helping the image of it being a dying competition.

As for final venues...Much preferred Cardiff to Wembley.

how about this....Please bear in mind this is just an idea

Scrap the magic weekends as it is in its current form. It creates an imbalance in the number of games played rather then being a straight forward home / away format.

Have the quarter finals all played at one venue on the same day (large northern stadium eg Etihad / Anfield / St James Park) - this to effectively replace the magic weekend.

Possibly play the semi finals at the same venue, This could be done at a moderate sized stadium in the north (Elland Road / Hillsborough etc).

Final to be played at the end of June.

Venue for the final should not be set in stone, Wembley has lost its appeal, this is clearly evident from the blocks of empty seats. Another factor is the cost involved. not for the match ticket, I have no issues with paying a premium for a cup final, but with the short period between the semi finals and the final (sometimes less than 3 weeks), train prices are already very high, accomodation is expensive...

In days gone by, many would go to the final every yer irrespective of who was player, planning their trip over the space of a long time, making it more cost effective. Back in the day, there was limited opportunity to watch live RL on TV. Now its a min of twice a week plus internet highlights.

Or, how about this....Use Old Trafford for the CC final and Wembley for the GF?

I like what you say and yes I have been to Wembley 28 times most of them for challenge cup final no matter who is their (even hull fc ) the rest was England and Great Britain games and loved them all but I still think it should be put back some one should find out if the people that go would like to put it back to were it was

And you was doing so well until you mentioned moving the CCup away from Wembley.

THe drop in attendances for the final is because we have the play off's and the Grand Final is the last domestic fixture of the season.
Back in the day, the Challenge Cup final brought the curtain down on the season.
Quite simply, it has been massively overshadowed as RL's "star" event.

As for moving it, it wasn't a massive problem while the New Wembley was being built and I agree with other posters that, having all the empty club wembley seat's does nothing for the event's image and the sport may be better served moving the Final.

The Olympic stadium would be the obvious choice but, it's an awful venue, Cardiff would be better.
Of course, The RFL are usually keen to have events in London so, Cardiff may not suit that agenda.

Playing the Grand Final at Wembley would be a massive logistical challenge given there are seven days to sell tickets and for fans who are most likely based in the north of England to arrange travel. Old Trafford is just a more logical place to play that game and has built its own history.

Ideas like playing all the quarters at the same place get floated occasionally but you need to factor in the broadcasters. When all four games are televised, Sky getting the lower ranked pair, you are forcing them to televise games at a very undesirable time, in fact it would probably need the tv deal renegotiating to achieve. The BBC are probably more pliable but would need to be on board to switch from their preferred days.

But I think that trying to move the cup final or come up with Sadler-like schemes to fundamentally change it are misguided. Lower (but not disastrous) cup final attendances are a symptom of the struggles of many cup competitions in lots of sports and it's not entirely related to holding it at Wembley. Moreover Rugby League can ill afford to throw away years of history on a whim. It's a sport which occasionally lapses into inauthenticity and gimmicky in its quest to continue its progressive tradition. Would leaving Wembley behind lead to larger final crowds? I think it's highly unlikely so it's not something I would like to see happen just so the R L community can scratch an itch.

how about the magic weekend and the CC final combined at Wembley in May?

Every team would be going to Wembley every year with the final game being the cup final.
But I think you would have to make it a nines tournement between the other 10 teams for it all to be played on the same day.

It still has to be Wembley surely.

Love the idea of all 4 QF's in the same stadium on the same day, knock out games are quality.

I've suggested it for years.

I'd even start at the Round of 16. 8 games over 2 days is plenty.
Combined, those 8 games in the CC only get about 30k. Play them all at one venue over one weekend to the highest bidder and you'll get a bigger crowd and guaranteed money for sure. You could even televised every game on the red button.

Here's an idea. STOP CHANGING THINGS! Even as a hardened supporter of way too many years, I occasionally fall behind on rules changes, structure changes etc so what hope in hell does a new supporter have? If they don't understand what's going on, they'll simply not bother.

The other thing to bear in mind is that over the past 20 years there have been a ridiculous number of changes and overall, attendance figures either have stayed the same or dropped. Moving away from Wembley for the CC final will NOT make the game better.

FWIW The RFL should concentrate on the core teams more. The more we expand and try to increase supporters, the more the foundations are crumbling. Look at Cumbria, never a massive amount of support, but a while ago it was still strong. This is fading quickly and switching off previous ardent supporters, and the newer teams are a risk if they actually make up the difference.

I like it how it is. Wembley for CC and Old Trafford for Grand Final.
No need to change it.

I would work with Wembley to get access to those club Wembley seats though.

I beleive they have access to those this year so they wont be empty.

I'd move the Challenge Cup Final back to one of the May bank holidays. Games can be then less spaced out, and the Cup will be the major focus early in the season as it was previously. I'd keep it at Wembley as long as it is financially viable, I think it's a big part of the romance of the cup and a regular event people go to. It also means there is more time in between the two major finals, so we aren't squeezing people's pockets as hard.

Magic Weekend could be the first round of the Super 8s, this would level up the fixture list. I like the idea about having the round of 16 as magic but it doesn't fit with my suggestion above, as the weather would likely be rubbish.