I was there on Saturday. Had never been to a "Magic" weekend before and got discounted tickets as I work for the Co-operative so figured it'd be worth the journey. It turned out to be a disappoitning day. If there was more than 18 or 19 thousand I'd be very surprised. Not one section was full, the Wigan fans bit in the lower tier came closest. The whole top tier was shut, now considering that the stadium holds 74000 and the top tier makes up 33000 of that, you get some idea of how much the RFL are inflating it.
It got considerably busier for the last game but for the second and third games it was empty. The atmosphere was poor all day but there was absolutely no atmosphere whatsoever for the Catalans-Harlequins game. None. What were they thinking pairing these two up?
Also the stewarding was awful and I'll admit I took advantage of it. I was sat in the middle tier behind the sticks and it soon became apparent that the little atmosphere there was and all the noise, mainly from Pies and Wire fans, was coming from the lower tier. It was clear that that was the place to be. When you left the ground you were given a green stamp on your hand to get back in, it wasn't coulour-coded dependent on stand or tier. After the first game at least half, probably more, of the people in the middle tier left the ground and then entered again into the lower tier. I myself did this as it was clear nobody was bothered and it was dead in the middle tier after that.
For the first half of the second game we went across the road for a pint. I'd been in a few pubs in the city centre prior to the first game and they were fine. In this one they had the England/Italy Union game on, about 5 or 6 large screens showing it. No mention of the League games across the road and we were looked at like scum as we walked in, my mate in a Pie shirt and me in a Souths Rabbitohs shirt. The placed was packed with the Ra-Ra brigade so we thought better of it and left. Now I didn't really expect anything else but why did the RFL persist on hosting this event on a day when Six Nations, the Manchester derby and local football team Cardiff City were playing? No locals were remotely interested and the League fans were treated as an annoyance around the ground. I've been to Cardiff before and enjoyed it immensely for Challenge Cup Finals, but Saturday left a sour taste and I won't be going back.
The RFL need to seriously rethink this concept. Wigan vs Saints at the DW and Leeds vs Bradford at Headingley as opening games of the season would've attracted 30,000 plus easily combined, probably 35,000 or more. They need to consider that if they are to continue with this failing idea, is Cardiff appropriate? Maybe Anfield Magic or City of Manchester Stadium Magic would be a better idea.
On a brighter note I enjoyed yesterday's game much more. No 350 mile round trip, I can see the floodlights of the ground from my house and just a 5 minute walk and I'm there
A good win but we're gonna have to play better than that though against the more able sides.
Thought it was stones not pounds Matt. 
