Fresh analysis by Stage and Screen, a boutique subsidiary of Flight Centre Travel Group specialising in travel management for the sports, TV, film, and entertainment industries, has revealed the annual footy festival Magic Round is more popular among corporate fans than the NRL and AFL grand finals.
The data, derived from Flight Centre Corporate bookings, highlights the appeal of the NRL Magic Round which is attracting almost double the combined corporate fans of the nation’s two most coveted sporting grand finals – with the addition of a Women’s State of Origin tournament, to be held on the eve of Magic Round, also a key driver of this soaring popularity.
The data reviews Flight Centre Corporate flight bookings for the three events*, and shows Brisbane’s NRL Magic Round, held 17 to 19 May, has received a massive 122 per cent more bookings than last year’s NRL grand final, and 65 per cent more bookings than the 2023 AFL grand final.
Stage and Screen travel experts are forecasting the event will attract a 45 per cent increase in business travel bookings to the Queensland capital during 15 to 19 May, compared with the previous week (8-12 May).
The rising popularity of the event among corporate fans comes amid the historic addition of the 2024 Women’s State of Origin, which kicks off the eve of the festival (16 May) with New South Wales and Queensland set to battle it out across three games.
It is the first time a standalone Women’s Origin game has been held at Suncorp Stadium and it follows a record-breaking year for the two-game women’s series[1]. The NRL revealed new attendance and broadcast benchmarks were set across the two Women’s State of Origin series last year, with a crowd of 18,275 attending the Townsville clash.
Stage and Screen manages the travel for operational staff, teams, and players. General Manager Adam Moon said its analysis revealed the NRL Magic Round had become a firm favourite among corporate fans and may steal the spotlight from the nation’s biggest headline sporting acts, citing the fantastic match variety and ticket accessibility as a winning combination.
“Despite the NRL Grand Final at Accor Stadium attracting a sell-out crowd of 81,947[2] last year, Magic Round collected a record 147,095 attendees, of which 10,000 alone were corporate fans[3], with 40 per cent of ticket holders being from outside of Queensland[4],” Adam said.
“This speaks volumes to the appeal, particularly with interstate corporate travellers keen to sample a slice of Queensland footy fever in an iconic Brisbane stadium. And our booking figures further reveal its swelling popularity.
“Then there’s the Women’s State of Origin series. Figures show Australians are getting behind women’s rugby league in a big way, and we believe the addition of this historic first series to Suncorp is driving corporate fan bookings north.”
Queensland Rugby League CEO Ben Ikin backed the reason behind the rise and said the QRL was leveraging the growing interest in women’s sports.
“Magic Round is one of the biggest events on the rugby league calendar, so to have the Women’s State of Origin match lead off four days of football is massive. This game means a lot to our players and coaches – they’re ready to create their own Origin memories on this famous turf,” Ben said.
“Our role here at the QRL is to provide the players and coaching staff with everything they need to produce a strong performance that will inspire the next generation to fall in love with the game.
“Female rugby league is one of the fastest growing sectors of our game. With that comes plenty of exciting opportunities as well as challenges, like ensuring we have the facilities to support our participants. Through our newly appointed State Infrastructure and Grants manager, we’re making some great progress.”
Ben said Stage and Screen – who has partnered with QRL to support the success and logistical management of the team – had been instrumental in ensuring this year’s success by handling the intricate behind-the-scenes work crucial to putting two State of Origin teams on the field.
“Players are based all over the country and it’s quite common for our teams to be on the move regularly in a camp environment,” he said.
“That’s where the expertise of State and Screen comes in. Their experienced team are always ready to help get our players and coaches on the road or in the air as efficiently as possible,” Brisbane Broncos player Romy Teitzel said the historic game would draw significant attention to women’s rugby league.
“It’s great to see that women’s Origin now has three games which is in line with the men’s game. I’m excited that as our series grows it is becoming a marquee event in fans calendar,” she said.
* The data analysed for these findings are Flight Centre Corporate bookings as follows:
– NRL Magic Round: 15 to 19 May 2024, compared with the previous week 8-12 May 2024.
– NRL Grand Final: 25 September to 1 October 2023
– AFL Grand Final: 25 September to 3 October 2023.
