Newcastle United miss out on PSR win as Everton swoop for major £10m boost
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Newcastle United latest news: St James’ Park will not host the 2026 Magic Weekend.
Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium has been picked to host the 2026 Magic Weekend - beating off interest from St James’ Park to stage the event for the first time ever.
The Hill Dickinson Stadium’s first taste of rugby league action came last month when it staged the second of three Ashes tests between England and Australia. England lost that series 3-0.
However, that event has been deemed a success within the rugby league community and the sport will again return there next year. The 2026 Magic Weekend will be hosted on the weekend of Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 July and will see 12 of the 14 Super League teams compete over the weekend.
The Magic Weekend has been hosted at St James’ Park in eight of the last eleven years and brings with it an estimated £10m to the local economy. The Hill Dickinson Stadium will be just the third venue to break St James’ Park’s dominance in hosting the event since it was first staged in 2015 with Anfield (2019) and Elland Road (2024) the venues chosen to stage the event during that time.
It is understood that Newcastle United and St James’ Park had expressed interest in holding the event once more in 2026. However, rugby league fans will now no longer be able to enjoy a weekend in the north east and instead head to Liverpool for the showpiece event.
Super League Magic Weekend to be played at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium
Six matches, involving the twelve Super League teams based in England, will be played over the weekend with a future ‘French Magic’ event to be announced which will host Toulouse Olympique’s clash with Catalan Dragons.
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Speaking about the decision to stage the event at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Rhodri Jones, Rugby League’s commercial managing director, said: “This will be the seventh venue to stage Magic since it was introduced as a new concept for sport in 2007, and our clubs, players and supporters are in for a treat. It's a stunning stadium with outstanding facilities at all levels, and also superbly located for summer on the waterfront, and with the many and varied attractions of Liverpool within easy reach.
“We're looking forward to elevating our fan experience with a range of hospitality offers which proved so popular for the international, and the Plaza outside the stadium is perfect for Magic. We continue to work with the Dragons and Toulouse on the feasibility of delivering a very special event in France too, and we hope to be able to announce something in the near future on this.”
Missing out on hosting the Magic Weekend will come as a blow for Newcastle United who can use that event to boost their revenue - something that is invaluable in a world of PSR and other financial restrictions. Premier League clubs this week voted in new financial controls which will come into effect when the 2026/27 season gets underway.
That vote will see the end of PSR, to be replaced by a ‘squad cost ratio’ (SCR) system. SCR will limit clubs to spending 85% of their football revenue for on-pitch spending, including transfer fees, wages and agents’ costs.