Having been to the first two Millennium Magic weekends, I feel I have more than earned the right to comment and I cannot recommend the weekend highly enough. For the fans to witness an entire round of Super League in one stadium is something only the RFL can conjure up in an attempt to establish a fan base and spread the game away from the heartlands with the goal of setting up a Super League side in the south of Wales. Celtic Crusaders will no doubt fit the bill eventually. But with the recent news that the RFL could be considering a move way from Cardiff for their Magic Weekend, how concerned should we be about a move to Edinburgh, Belfast or Dublin?
Well, I for one would be dead set against the idea of a move away from the valleys. In my opinion, the RFL must make the fans their priority, and that means listening to what they want. The general consensus from reading certain internet forums, watching television interviews with fans and listening to radio phone-ins, is that the weekend must stay in Cardiff. Being part of the majority, there are no doubt other reasons why Cardiff must host this unique event but of course I will mention my own thought up argument points.
Firstly there is no other city in the country that has a stadium the size of the Millennium Stadium that is situated so close to the city centre. In fact, the stadium is situated spot on in the middle of Cardiff, therefore the fans flood the entire city creating an atmosphere that is second to none in the middle of the city, and with it being a Rugby League event all the fans can mingle and mix together with very few if any at all unlawful incidents including alcohol related violence. For Hull FC and KR fans to be able to sit and drink in the same pub or bar and not start kicking each others head in is a miracle, but it shows that the rivalry between opposition fans is “friendly” and not something that is reminiscent to that of a football rivalry. If you were to take all of that, and put it into either Edinburgh or Dublin, the atmosphere would decrease due to the distance from the city centre to the stadium and the cost of travelling would increase to get the fans from the city centre to the stadium.
Secondly, the roof in the Millennium Stadium also adds to the atmosphere and protects the players from the elements if there is any bad weather. But this also increases the atmosphere (and forgive me for speaking scientific bollocks, here) as the sound waves created from fans, players and officials is bounced back off the structure of the stadium, instead of being lost into the atmosphere above with an open roof. However there is argument for the roof to be open. Barrie McDermott emphasises this point well in his commentary, the closed roof causes the pitch to sweat creating dew on the surface. This in turn makes the surface slippery for the players, and so many tries are scored and conceded from players being unable to keep their footing. Another reason is, and this was very obvious in the Saints V Wigan match on Sunday, the smoke from the fireworks that are set off when the players step onto the pitch is not allowed to escape from the stadium. It simply rises until it is blocked by the roof. The simple solutions here is to not use fireworks and maybe use spotlights instead and turn off the stadium lights as the players come out to create an atmosphere and build up that is just as good. Then again, this wasn’t a problem on the Saturday, so maybe the ventilation system wasn’t working as it should be on that particular day. The point being, the roof must stay shut to provide an arena for fans.
Thirdly, the Millennium magic concept is a win-win situation for almost everyone. The Welsh Tourist Board pays the RFL to stage the event in Cardiff, but in turn, the fans that flock to the Welsh capital and support the economy by spending money. Cardiff also provides for the Rugby League orientated fans by supplying supporters’ jerseys not just from Super League, but also from the NRL (although I was disappointed not to see a State of Origin shirt in the shops I went to). This is just one example; the bookmakers have provided special coupons and odds especially for this event. As long as we, the Rugby League supporters, keep spending money in the clubs, bars, restaurants, gift shops, high street stores etcetera, then the tourist board makes up the money from what they spent paying the RFL. The only exception to this rule is the clubs themselves. I’m not a hundred percent sure of the details, but I suppose the RFL will have to compensate the clubs in some way because they are not only missing a home fixture, but they also have to spend money to provide travel and accommodation for the players, coaches and club officials. But apart from that, it is good for the sport that the “magic weekend” stays in the land of the red dragon.
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