Rivals Halifax Panthers and Batley Bulldogs to clash in Summer Bash

York will host the seventh Summer Bash on the Spring Bank Holiday Weekend of May 27 and 28, at the LNER Community Stadium.

Tickets go on sale today, and demand is expected to be high for the 8,500 capacity venue, with an attractive line-up of fixtures – and only two of the seven Championship games confirmed for live coverage by Viaplay Sports.

Both those fixtures are scheduled for Saturday May 27, with Toulouse Olympique taking on London Broncos, and Featherstone Rovers facing York Knights in a match which should generate an electric atmosphere.

The other games scheduled for Saturday see John Kear’s Widnes Vikings taking on newly-promoted Swinton Lions, and an all-Cumbrian affair between Barrow Raiders and Whitehaven.

Sunday will see a new local derby for the Bash weekend as Keighley Cougars, making only their second Bash appearance and their first since 2016, take on their big-city neighbours Bradford Bulls.

Panthers and Bulldogs take their rivalry to York for the first time, while Newcastle Thunder and Sheffield Eagles will travel south-west and north-east respectively to meet roughly in the middle.

Sunday’s line-up will be completed by a Betfred Women’s Super League clash between the rebranded York Valkyrie, who won the League Leaders Shield in 2022, and Warrington Wolves following their promotion to the top tier.

Mark Foster, the RFL’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “The LNER Community Stadium and the city of York are exciting new venues for the Betfred Championship Summer Bash in 2023.

“York has been a key venue through the Rugby League World Cup, including staging a superb event for the Women’s Semi Finals with a record rugby crowd at the LNER Community Stadium of more than 7,000, and as a popular base for a number of teams.”

The Summer Bash was first played in 2015 at Bloomfield Road in Blackpool which remained the venue until 2019. It has not been available in 2022, when the Bash was played at Headingley, or in 2023, hence the move to York.