Magic Weekend an opportunity to enhance broadcast deal - Jones

Leeds Rhinos v Bradford Bulls is one of seven fixtures to take place at Super League's Magic Weekend event [SWPix] Super League's Magic Weekend is an opportunity for rugby league to pitch itself to potential bidders as the sport courts a future broadcast deal, Rugby Football League (RFL) managing director Rhodri Jones has said. The league's current broadcast deal, which sees matches televised by the BBC and Sky Sports, finishes at the end of this season. Six of this year's Magic Weekend fixtures will take place at Everton's new Hill Dickinson Stadium, while Catalans Dragons' all-French meeting with Toulouse will be played in Castres to maximise the attendance. "The Magic Weekend is another shop window for us where we can deliver and portray the healthiness or the healthy state of the sport and the Super League in particular," Jones, who is also interim chief executive of the RFL, told BBC Sport. "That certainly does help us in our conversations with broadcasters, commercial partners, event delivery partners." Everton played host to the second Ashes Test between England and Australia last autumn, with a near-capacity crowd of 51,000 in attendance. It was the first non-football event to be held at the ground, which opened last year, and Jones believes its success paved the way for it to be used for this year's Magic Weekend. "I think it was a leap of faith by Everton for that Ashes fixture but they also wanted to make a statement that they weren't just a football club," Jones added. "They've clearly built the stadium to be able to host non-football events, whether that be other sports or music events. "I think that Ashes fixture selling out so quickly, which then enabled us to put on the show that we were able to put on, showed them that we know how to put big events on. "The conversation around hosting a Magic Weekend was not long in terms of negotiation. A lot of that conversation happened probably half an hour after the Ashes game concluded, so we knew that we had struck a chord with them." 'Each club will make more money this year' Around 76,000 tickets have been sold for the two-day event in Liverpool, making it one of the most successful Magic Weekends ever. It is the second time Magic Weekend has been held in Liverpool, with Anfield hosting it in 2019. Cardiff's Principality Stadium held the first event in 2007, with Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Manchester's Etihad Stadium and Newcastle's St James' Park also playing host over the past 19 years. "There was debate about the future of the Magic Weekend and with the confines of the calendar that we have in terms of an end date and a start date," added Jones. "Every club will walk away this year with more money than they have done in previous years, which is testament to everybody's efforts in selling 76,000 tickets. "There was a debate about its future and I think we've certainly turned that debate into a proactive discussion now about the longevity of the Magic Weekend going into the future."