Hill Dickinson Stadium is Magic

Rugby League is an often undervalued and under-appreciated sport; one which is not given the media backing or attention of Rugby Union, but when at its best is, in my opinion at least, a far better spectacle.

And Hill Dickinson Stadium is swiftly establishing itself as a home away from home for Rugby League.

Arguably the only success story from the Rugby League Ashes last autumn was the use of Everton’s grand new dock-side home for the second Test; all involved were hugely impressed. In fact, some Australian pundits, traveling over for the series, were eulogising over the design and atmosphere on podcasts for weeks to come.

It was natural, then, that the RFL (Rugby Football League) took one of its headline events to Everton, with Super League’s 2026 Magic Weekend swiftly confirmed to be heading to Hill Dickinson Stadium on the back of that Ashes Test.

Safe to say, the switch from St James’ Park worked.

Some insights were provided on the official Super League website:

• This year’s event featured the biggest pre-sale in Magic Weekend history.

• 82,925 fans attended the 7 matches, 6 of which took place at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

• Sunday’s attendance at Hill Dickinson Stadium was 42,903, marking the largest single-day crowd in the event’s history.

There was no waiting around, either, to confirm Hill Dickinson Stadium (or, as it has now become known in Rugby League parlance, just ‘Everton’) as the venue for 2027’s Magic Weekend, either.

Before Sunday’s slate of matches had even started, it was confirmed Everton will be the home of the event next year.

Rather than July, Magic Weekend 2027 will take place on the first bank holiday weekend in May. Everton will be playing away from home.

Hopefully, ticket sales will stay high — the lack of work for many folks on the Monday will certainly help in theory, albeit there are now other factors to consider.

With Everton in action that weekend, fans of the club who wanted to see Hill Dickinson Stadium in action for something other than hosting the Toffees may not be so willing to attend this time around.

Meanwhile, 4 Super League clubs are set to travel to Dublin for a mini-Magic the previous weekend.

There’s also the novelty factor. There’s no doubt many fans attended in order to take in Britain’s newest, shiniest stadium for the first time. 

However, the location is pretty much as good as it gets. The fan plaza serves as the perfect gathering point, and at no stage when I attended on Sunday was it less than half full. Fans were more than happy to bask in the summer sun, grab a bite to eat and something to drink, while there were countless Rugby League-themed games on for the kids.

This coming Saturday, Fiji will take on England in a Rugby Union clash; once again, it’s clear that Hill Dickinson Stadium, which has already hosted international football games, is now the go-to destination for other sports looking for a special location. 

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That’s brilliant, and one intriguing element of next year’s Magic Weekend is that the decision to move it forward to May was, in part, due to the stadium’s unavailability in early July. That would suggest it is already booked in for another event or two, so expect concerts to be announced in the coming months.

And all of this is vitally important. Vital revenue for Everton, which can all be reinvested in the club — in the first team.

The more the merrier, and the next thing for Everton to start doing is ensuring the fan plaza is booked out, too. That has a capacity of up to 10,000; there’s plenty of bands and artists that are capable of filling a venue of that size, for example, meaning the stadium itself can be reserved for the very biggest acts.

Income. Income. Income.

That’s what it’s all about. That’s why Everton were taken to the brink financially to build the thing. 

It’s been a strong start, and Rugby League’s commitment to the venue for next year is a great step. Securing a top-level international men’s football team to play a game there in 2027 would also be fantastic — Brazil? Argentina? Why not? There’s no major tournament, so go get it done.

 

 

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