Agree with what you say Kettycat. We’ve taken our grandson several times to Wembley , magic weekend and to the Grand Final. This year we chose to take him to Toulouse. As you say there’s only so far your money stretches.

I was there too and agree the stadium is the best I've ever been to. And I've been to a lot.
In terms of going back yo Wembley. My understanding is that this is a one off.
If we weren't going back to Wembkey then it might as well be in the North to save everyone a lot of money.

Both games were great. The food was great if a little expensive. View and atmosphere were great even with some gaps.
Probably the only downsides were that it would have been nice to have a new name on the trophy but Wigan's try was a worthy way to win and location was a bit tough for drivers but that was a small issue.

I was sat opposite the tunnel on the second level East Atrium. Wow what an experience we were greeted outside the ground and directed to our entrance. Once inside we were greeted by staff saying hello sir welcome to Tottenham Hotspur with a smile. The lady in our party was asked politely to have her bag inspected and then up 2 escalators to our level. Where once again greeted with a smile and " hello sir welcome to Tottenham Hotspur "we hope you enjoy your day" we were shown through to the bar and with plush comfy seats and tables. Out to our seats that were padded, very comfortable and a terrific view. Both inside and out what a wonderful ground, facilities we can only dream of. I like Wembley it always will have a place in my heart but , hand on heart I prefer Tottenham.

The biggest tragedy surrounding the Challenge Cup Final is how SKY, Super League and the RFL have downgraded the importance of the occasion in favour of the Grand Final.

Shifting the dates from one time of the year to another & seeding Super League teams while full time professionalism has made it impossible for lower league clubs to even dream of playing in the final.

It used to be Rugby Leagues big day out, with fans from everywhere in the game booking their hotel rooms, coaches and marking it in their diary from one year to the next. It mattered not who was appearing in the final, every club had huge numbers of fans attending including amateur clubs.

It used to be said that the FA Cup capacity for old Wembley was 102,000 while just a week later the capacity for the Challenge Cup was 98,000. Reason being the average Northerner is bigger than the average Southerner, we need ent worry about that anymore as we’ll never trouble the capacity limit again.

That said, the move to Spurs new stadium was a great one, the atmosphere looked and sounded amazing and by all reports the experience within the stadium was fantastic. Let’s hope IMG have some plans that’ll reinvigorate the Challenge Cup and the game as a whole.

I think you would find Trinity have tremendous support if we get back to playing in a cup final!
We weren't the best supported club the last time we went in 1979, but I believe the final against Widnes was only about 500 short of the 90k capacity. We have thousands more 'supporters' in a final!

I'm sure it was fantastic being there absorbing the atmosphere and everything else that goes with the day out, but for me watching it on television with it not being at Wembley it just didn't feel the same, it just seemed like watching a match at the magic weekend.

I know I said there weren’t as many fans at the final as there should have been, but way more than the magic weekend games… it’s usually like watching a reserve game atmosphere wise, IMO.

Wembley Has never been the same since it was rebuilt. I always say that the Principality stadium is probably the best stadium location (pubs not travel) and atmosphere wise but spurs is very close if not better.

I don't think it's the fault of the two clubs fans as even if the two best supported clubs were challenging they wouldn't come close to filling it, it's when all rugby fans come together for the final, those that go for the day, and those that make the yearly pilgrimage for the weekend that made it a bit special, maybe those days have gone now for different reasons, but I weren't comparing it fanwise, with it not being at Wembley for those looking in from the outside for me anyway it didn't feel like the cup final but more like a game at magic, or perhaps the grand final at best depending to an extent whether you want to make a weekend of it in Manchester

I was in the same area, almost bang on with the half way line too. I was convinced I was in the wrong place and expected to be ejected at any moment





The ground is first class and the bar area unbelievable.

As others have said, it was a great game too. Think the best team lost, perhaps Smithies should have been off.

I’ll have to agree to disagree with you 1315 ,back in 79 I was there as a lad and from what I remember Wembley was packed , but back in those days trips were booked by pubs and clubs all over the North as a yearly event regardless who we’re playing, not just the participating clubs fans .Those days are sadly gone and so has the industrial landscape that contributed so much to that era of packed stadiums . What we’ve got now added to our monthly expenditure , mobile phone bill , internet cost , sky , etc etc the list goes on , 79 was a simple lifestyle for most and Wembley was a culmination of their sporting hero’s and fans coming together for a celebration, but which has been dumbed down year on year unfortunately.

It looked great on TV and I commented to Mrs KH that it should be held there every year. The only down side for me was the medal presentation at the end - distinctly low key and naff. The days of pub, club and amateur teams filling buses to go the final are over unfortunately. To quote an awful cliche, it’s no longer, “Rugby League’s big day out” when a trip to London was, for most rugby league fans, a one off, yearly, special occasion. I do think the game yesterday went some way to restoring the image of the Challenge Cup and it could really be promoted as an “event” if the facilities at Spurs are as good as people are saying on here.