Challenge Cup semi-final venues confirmed including historic first
The LNER Community Stadium will host one of this year's Challenge Cup semi-finals.
York’s LNER Community Stadium will host a Challenge Cup semi-final for the first time – with St Helens also selected to stage a tie next month.
Hull KR will face Catalans Dragons in one semi-final, with Leigh Leopards and Warrington Wolves squaring off in the other. The winners will meet at Wembley Stadium in June.
And RL Commercial have now finalised the plans for the final four. Hull KR’s clash with the Dragons will be staged in York, with the LNER Community Stadium becoming the latest venue to host a Challenge Cup semi-final for the first time.
That tie will be held at 2:30pm on Saturday, May 10. The following day, at 4:15pm, Warrington Wolves will take on Leigh at St Helens’ Totally Wicked Stadium.
The BBC will televise both games – while details of the women’s semi-finals will be revealed later this month.
York has hosted big occasions before, with the women’s semi-finals of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup being staged at the venue. But it will now be the site of a big men’s semi-final in the Challenge Cup, too.
Two sell-outs are expected for the semi-finals, continuing the trend of the cup this year following strong attendances.
That was underlined in last weekend’s quarter-finals. A crowd of 20,226 was in attendance at the MKM Stadium to witness Rovers defeat Hull FC to book their spot in the final four. It was the highest crowd for any tie not including the final since 1989.
Meanwhile, a peak of over 1million fans watched the two quarter-finals televised live on the BBC. RL Commercial also saw record viewing figures on Super League+ for the game between Wakefield and Leigh on Friday night.
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