We liked it. A lot.
It can be pretty pricey for a family of five, and we could have gone abroad all inclusive on what we spent in Newcastle last year but in Liverpool accommodation was good and cheap, food and drink was reasonable and transport good. It was then just a short, simple, trip home. For those in the car, parking at Stanley park a minute away from the stadium.
I thought the stewards were brilliant, really friendly and accommodating. The stadium is stunning externally. And the atmosphere inside was good.
I think a lot of those complaining, who liked Newcastle, were interested in the beer. If you want a weekend on the p*ss then you can do that any time. It SHOULD be about the rugby and that was spot on this weekend. It was actually quite nice to not have to negotiate the kids around so many drunken supporters, and I felt like more people actually stayed in the stadium to watch rather than leave after their game. The only issue was Cas fans yet again letting their team down letting off smoke bombs. If any of you idiots are on here- you are letting your club down. Let’s hope Cas don’t suffer as a result.
If I had any criticism it’s that the fan park was a bit sp, but no worse than Newcastle. etihad has been head and shoulders above the rest in that respect.
I’d be more than happy to go back to Anfield, from a family point of view it suited us better than Newcastle.

My only real criticism of the ground was the lack of leg room in the Kop. Not the most comfortable for 3 games back to back especially if you are taller than average I imagine.
Other than that I was impressed with ground and the atmosphere. All the staff were friendly and good humoured.

Yep I’d agree. Me and my nephew couldnt fit in 1 seat each, both over 6’3 and 16 stone. His legs were in the aisle and I was nearly doing the splits to fit my legs in.

The Etihad has good leg room, now that it’s been developed I’d love to have it back there.

The immediate surrounding area is like war torn Baghdad, rows of derelict housing, being pestered by drug addicts, absolutely no amenities such as coffee shops, restaurants or bars. For anyone staying the whole day and who wanted to wander outside the stadium to get a meal it’s simply not the place, in fact some of the side streets looked a bit scary!

Sorry but having done Fri,Sat, Sun it’s not something I’ll be doing again!

Cardiff & Newcastle are well located to the City Centre, plenty of bars and a good atmosphere . Liverpool was the wrong choice .

not for me again just didnt feel right been there it almost had a feel of a regular away game rather than a festival of rugby as it has before in other places

Anfield isn’t bad for a one off game but not the magic weekend, same with Spurs new stadium. Great stadiums but not fitting for a festival of rugby league.

I might be wrong, but isn't that part of the football masterplan in the long term, to slowly buy up the surrounding streets so that they can redevelop the ground and surrounding vicinity?

Some seem more interested in what pubs are around the stadium or where they can get something to eat rather than the stadium or rugby itself but personally I don't care about either as I usually take my own food and rarely drink when I go.

The staff and stewards were really friendly. The only real problems I had with Anfield was the lack of leg room in the Kop (I'm only 5 11, god only know what it was like for really tall people) and them needlessly playing YNWA before the Cas/Saints game.

I'd like next years it to be at my favourite ground I have ever visited, and close to ALL the amenities. But it's probably too big



[urlhttps://www.stadiumguide.com/millenniumstadium/[/url

was you allowed to enter as in the past we was stopped from taking food in, that was Edinburgh by the way

We took food and drink in and didn't try to hide it, just no glass and presumably alcohol I think.

Ive been to most Magic Weekend grounds and Anfield was probably the least enjoyable for me. Leg room in the Kop was awful and im only 5’10”. Atmosphere around the ground was non-existent, for me a big part of previous Magics. Ability to move around the ground is always a plus with non-reserved seating but Anfields stands are segregated. Beer out of cans was warm for most of the day also.

It was good to experience a new ground but for me, there are better options for the Magic Weekend, and i probably wouldnt be in a rush to go if its there next year.

My bag, which was full of food, was searched just before I got to the turnstiles and I was let in with it, no problems.

You mean go back to where it was held when we started the whole Magic thing back in the day? It did get decent reviews back in Cardiff. IIRC they used to close the roof.

They Did . Micky vella ask the ref ( Ganson I think) if he could open the roof as it was too hot .

Not sure if that was 2007 0r 2008 . Where Rovers won 14-19 & 22-17.

Brilliant weekend in Cardiff . Great location . You can actually see The Millenium Stadium from The Prince Of Wales pub .

Magic should be MAINLY about Rugby but to pretend the immediate surroundings of the stadium aren't a huge factor would be naive. Anfield is completely inappropriate for a magic weekend because its in the middle of nowhere.

To me though, the question is less about why Anfield, and more about why not Newcastle. What on earth does a venue have to do to keep the weekend permanently and why are we obsessed with moving around all the time? Newcastle council have been extremely friendly, the ground is in a good location AND just as importantly, the whole thing helps support a local RL side in Newcastle. The obsession with being nomadic is one of the weirdest things about RL in my opinion. I'm a genuine expansionist, but we've been taking things on the road to bemused and disinterested people for as long as I can remember and I don't think it's furthered the sport one bit.

It would be difficult to satisfy the needs of all supporters.
If you going as a group of lads ( or girls) it's different than going as a family with young children.
It sounds a great idea taking it abroad but again that is pricey for a family.

All of these sum it up perfectly for me apart from the last one highlighted,
The notion that everybody just wants to go for a pizz up rather than the rugby is very small minded to me,
Me personally i have been to every one of the Magi's and stayed for the weekend most times, And the reason why I've stayed is the atmosphere and in a certain way the comradery with most of us rugby league fans, Drinking together singing together(see youtube Wakey & Wire fans) just good old banter,
Plenty of places to take your family for something to eat and then there's the local economy side of things with all the money being spend in such city ie ( Newcastle/Cardiff/Manchester ) but for me this time Anfield was
eye-candy looked nice from outside and in BUT awful to sit in and like has been mention no option to walk around in the stadium.
The ground was too far away from the city,Compared with Newcastle and Cardiff in which their were ideally situated.
The idea of going aboard is interesting but again apart from the die-hards who could make a holiday out of it, The so called casual fans you don't want to spend much money I think would effect the attendances even more.

I agree it’s done nothing taking things on the road but it’s because we never follow up with a long term plan. It’s a case of we take an international to Coventry and then nothing. No help and support for the local club, no consistent events in the city to establish a following or profile. We then just move on. As if it never happened. And funnily enough the people in that area treat it the same way.

We have such a scattergun approach to our events, it’s bizarre. They should be used as part of a consistent strategy to expand the sport in this country. We don’t have the finances to do widespread expansion. We need to target a city with events and both financial and non-financial support for 10 years.
If, for instance, we did the below:
- Hold Magic Weekend at St James Park every season
- take at least 1 international per year to St James Park
- take the Cup Semis as a double header consistently to St James Park
- provide central assistance to and rebrand Newcastle Thunder as Newcastle United RLFC, playing in black and white stripes
- have Newcastle United RLFC play before the Magic Weekend games and Cup Semis at St James Park
- work with Newcastle United to provide Newcastle fans with discounted tickets to both events and Newcastle RLFC games (if Barcelona FC can help promote a Catalans game then anything is possible)
Then I don’t see why we can’t make significant progress in a major city in the country. You don’t bill yourselves as a competitor to the football, you’re a complement to it and embrace it fully.

But it requires consistent time and investment. Something which I have never ever seen RL do in this country.
We wonder why we’re lagging behind Union, that is exactly why. They put consistent time, effort and investment into their internationals and its paid off massively.
We don’t have the finances or other benefits Union had, but we still don’t do anything like what we could with what we have.
We essentially taken the approach of we’ve got £100 to spend so we’ll buy 200 x 50p’s worth of stuff. Which essentially is worthless in the long run. We need to target the £100 and get something worthwhile for it.

Absolutely spot on

I think if it's to do another year in Liverpool it needs to be marketed more aggressively in the city and try to get more locals in.

However, even that could be futile as most Scousers deem rugby league to be a 'woolyback sport',

Wasn't impressed with the venue. To avoid the queues and £10 charge we decided to use the P&R on the outskirts and get the train in. Only £3-80 return. Reviews said that Kirkdale was the closest station, but that was a good 25 minute walk through Raqa style areas. There were buses to Sandhills station but massive queues.
I thought the area around was terrible. Scruffy pubs and a desolate fan zone. Inside was OK for me but my son is tall and struggled with the seats.
I prefer travelling for the day so would prefer the Etihad, and it's a pity Blackpool's Bloomfield Park isn't a bit bigger.

I wish they would go to Cardiff again ,best venue by far .