The 2023 Super League play-offs have reached the semi-final stage with the last-four ties to be played this weekend.
Catalans Dragons, St Helens, Wigan Warriors and Hull KR are all striving to make it to the Super League Grand Final, the showpiece of the rugby league season. All of these games will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Which stadium will host the 2023 Super League Grand Final?
Contents
- 1 Which stadium will host the 2023 Super League Grand Final?
- 2 When is the 2023 Super League Grand Final?
- 3 How to get tickets for the 2023 Super League Final?
- 4 Previous Super League finals at Old Trafford
- 5 Record attendance at the Super League Grand Final
- 6 Super League semi-final fixtures
- 7 What does the Super League trophy look like?
The Super League Grand Final stadium is Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United Football Club.
This venue is effectively also the home of this special game as it has been hosted there, every year, since 1998 except for 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic meant that the KCOM Stadium in Hull staged the event.
When is the 2023 Super League Grand Final?
The decider will take place on Saturday 14 October with the prestigious trophy up for grabs.
It will be won by either Catalans Dragons, St Helens, Wigan Warriors or Hull KR, with the play-offs taking place this weekend.
First of all, reigning champions St Helens travel to Catalans Dragons on Friday with their aim of securing five consecutive Grand Final victories.
Then on Saturday, Wigan Warriors host Hull Kingston Rovers, with the hosts of that tie eager to follow up on their League Leaders' Shield win in the regular season.
How to get tickets for the 2023 Super League Final?
2023 Super League Grand Final tickets are available to buy now, here. In addition to the allocation given to the finalists, the public sale of tickets has commenced.
For the Old Trafford showdown, adult tickets are available from £30, up to £85. Junior tickets are available for £10 and £15 with the price bands as follows:
Junior – 16 and under.
Concession – 17 to 22-year-olds and 65 & over.
Community – Junior Community Groups, Clubs, and Schools go for £20 per adult and £2.50 per child.
Previous Super League finals at Old Trafford
Old Trafford has played host to Super League Grand Finals across the last four decades. Here is the result of every one of those to have taken place since 1998, when the championship decider was first introduced:
1998 – Wigan 10-4 Leeds. 43, 533
1999 – St Helens 8-6 Bradford. 50, 717
2000 – St Helens 29-16 Wigan. 58, 132
2001 – Bradford 37-6 Wigan. 60, 164
2002 – St Helens 18-18 Bradford. 61, 138
2003 – Bradford 25-12 Wigan. 65, 537
2004 – Leeds 16-8 Bradford. 65, 547
2005 – Bradford 15-6 Leeds. 65, 728
2006 – St Helens 26-4 Hull. 72, 575
2007 – Leeds 33-6 St Helens. 71, 352
2008 – Leeds 24-16 St Helens. 68, 810
2009 – Leeds 18-10 St Helens. 63, 259
2010 – Wigan 22-10 St Helens. 71, 526
2011 – Leeds 32-16 St Helens. 69, 107
2012 – Leeds 26-18 Warrington. 70, 676
2013 – Wigan 30-16 Warrington. 66,281
2014 – St Helens 14–6 Wigan. 70,102
2015 – Leeds 22–20 Wigan. 73,512
2016 – Wigan 12–6 Warrington. 70,202
2017 – Leeds 24–6 Castleford. 72,827
2018 – Wigan 12–4 Warrington. 64,892
2019 – St Helens 23–6 Salford. 64,102
2020 – St Helens 8–4 Wigan. N/A (Hull)
2021 – St Helens 12–10 Catalans. 45,177
2022 – St Helens 24–12 Leeds. 60,783
Record attendance at the Super League Grand Final
The largest attendance at a Super League Grand Final came at Old Trafford in 2015 when Leeds defeated Wigan by two points in an enthralling game. 73,512 watched on. Crowds of 70,000-plus are semi-regular, though those in the 60,000-region more regular. The crowd at the last edition ticked just above that 60k mark but we're waiting for a first post-Covid 70k crowd still.
The most likely combination to produce that would probably be Hull KR against Wigan Warriors. The latter haven't played a final which fans could attend since 2018 and the former would be in their first-ever Grand Final, no doubt drawing a huge attendance from their supporters.
What impact will being the Super League Grand Final stadium have on the Old Trafford pitch?
The very competitive, attritional game on the pitch at Old Trafford is very likely to leave its mark.
Typically, a rugby league game like this will show plenty of wear, cutting up the surface in parts which would not be the case for a regular football game.
Will it make a difference? Not really. This game is a regular fixture at Old Trafford which will be taken care of by the ground staff at Manchester United. On the back of very poor recent results for Erik ten Hag's side, the Super League Grand Final will be the least of the worries for United's supporters.
United's next home game, following the Grand Final, will be their UEFA Champions League tie against Copenhagen on Tuesday 24 October, which provides ample time to prepare the pitch.
Super League semi-final fixtures
Friday 6 October
Catalans Dragons vs St Helens, Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan, France – 8pm kick-off
Saturday 7 October
Wigan Warriors vs Hull KR, DW Stadium, Wigan – 12.45pm kick-off
What does the Super League trophy look like?
Well, take a look for yourself. Here it is glinting in the sunshine at Old Trafford in 2022.
