Magic Weekend
[6][7] Richard Lewis, chairman of the RFL, cited both expansion and monetary reasons for the move to Wales, but the plan also allowed the Super League to be reduced by one round (critics had stated that the players were put under too much strain over the season).
The event was funded and promoted by the Welsh Tourist Board, who were looking to build on the Challenge Cup finals which had taken place in Cardiff between 2003 and 2005 due to the rebuilding of Wembley Stadium.
The two 'non-heartland' clubs in Super League at that time, Catalans Dragons (France) and Harlequins RL (London), were paired against each other.
The teams would face their Millennium Magic derby opponents four times during the Super League XII season.
The event again kicked off with the local south Wales team, Celtic Crusaders, but this time they were up against Featherstone Rovers at the Brewery Field, Bridgend in a National League 1 match.
The event included matches based on a seeded draw, using finishing positions from Super League XIII.
After fan criticism of the seeded draw, The RFL decided to ask all 14 Super League clubs whether they would like to revert to derbies.
The date of the Magic Weekend was changed for 2012, reverting to a mid-season game week rather than as a season opener like 2011.
[20] On 23 January 2014, the fixtures were announced with, in a repeat of the 2013 fixtures, four matches set to take place on the Saturday with the remaining three scheduled for Sunday, including four local derbies (Huddersfield-Bradford, Hull Kingston Rovers-Hull FC, Wakefield Trinity-Castleford and Warrington-St Helens R.F.C.)
plus the meeting of the last two winners of the Super League Grand Final, Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos.
In 2015, the Magic Weekend was forced to move due to construction at the Etihad Stadium, which would commence immediately after the 2014–15 Premier League season had concluded, which meant the Magic Weekend was due to be changed, with Coventry's Ricoh Arena and Newcastle upon Tyne's St James' Park being considered by the RFL.
Blake Solly had confirmed that the Etihad and Super League did have a good partnership, but there were alternatives available to host the event.
With the Super League Reformatting in 2015, the Magic Weekend featured twelve teams and six matches, as opposed to the seven games in previous years.
[23] After a successful event in Newcastle in 2015, the Magic Weekend returned to St James' Park for the second year running with most fixtures being based upon last season's league standings rather than local derbies.
As a curtain raiser, the first game to be played on the first day was a Championship fixture between Toronto Wolfpack and Toulouse Olympique.
[29] Following the 2024 event, The Guardian stated that the RFL were considering a return to Newcastle, along with Nottingham, Dublin, and Cardiff as venues for Magic 2025.
