The 2026 Betfred Super League Magic Weekend is set to take over Everton’s brand-new Hill Dickinson Stadium this weekend, July 4-5. All 12 top-flight teams are scheduled to clash in a full round of six fixtures inside a single venue.
And the anticipation is off the charts. The event has already shattered previous attendance records, with over 75,000 tickets sold ahead of kickoff. That enormous number firmly establishes this year’s festival as the highest-attended Magic Weekend in the sport’s history.
Pre-sales for the 2026 edition alone surpassed 25,000 before general release. That is a 400 percent jump compared to the early demand for the 2025 event. Fans checking the official spectator guide are seeing unprecedented numbers for the weekend.
The decision to move the rugby league spectacle to the Liverpool waterfront didn’t happen by accident. It directly follows the runaway success of the ABK Rugby League Ashes Test in November 2025. That international fixture drew a sell-out crowd of 52,106.
It also proved the new venue could handle the pressure. The Ashes Test was the first non-football sporting event ever held at Everton’s new home. Now, just months into its operational life, Hill Dickinson Stadium is stepping up to host a multi-day festival.
With an expected crowd of 90,000-plus commuters filtering in and out over the two days, local infrastructure is getting a workout. Merseyrail officials confirmed they are running special train timetables to handle the surge. Extra services will run every 15 minutes across the Southport, Ormskirk, Hunts Cross, and Headbolt Lane lines to keep fans moving seamlessly.