Have your say: Should Magic Weekend stay in Newcastle or leave?

Drew Darbyshire

There has been a lot of debate recently surrounding Magic Weekend and its next destination and we want to know what you think.

The annual event took place for a fourth consecutive year at St James’ Park at the weekend, home of Newcastle United FC.

However, the attendance fell to its lowest since its arrival in the North East.

The first Magic Weekend in Newcastle was staged in 2015. It’s debut year saw a total of 67,841 fans in attendance at St James’ Park, with the figure for 2016 being 68,276, the highest for a Magic event at Newcastle.

However, the crowd numbers have declined since 2016.

There were 65,407 people in attendance last year and this season’s Magic Weekend brought 64,319 spectators to Newcastle.

The numbers haven’t gone down drastically, but it shouldn’t be ignored. It is unlikely that the attendance will beat its record if it stays in Newcastle for a fifth straight year.

It has been rumoured that New York could possibly host Magic Weekend in 2019, while there is speculation of a return to the Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City FC.

A number of fans have got in touch with us on the Love Rugby League social media pages and have said they would like to see it taken back to Cardiff, in an attempt to put rugby league in the spotlight in Wales for the weekend.

Others would like to see it staged a little bit closer to the heartlands, like Sheffield or Liverpool.

We want to know what YOU think.

Should Magic Weekend stay in Newcastle or leave? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.