THE two biggest games in European club rugby could be coming to Newcastle in 2018 after the city lodged its bid for the European Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals.

If the bid is successful, the Champions Cup final in May 2018 will be staged at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park, with the Challenge Cup final taking place at Kingston Park, the home of Aviva Premiership rugby club Newcastle Falcons.

Newcastle would also stage the Challenge Cup Qualifying Competition final, with the weekend as a whole representing the biggest two-day event in European club rugby and potentially generating more than an estimated €20m for the regional economy.

The bid is a partnership between Newcastle City Council, NewcastleGateshead Initiative, Newcastle United Football Club and Newcastle Rugby Ltd, and has been submitted with the support of the Rugby Football Union and Premiership Rugby Limited.

St James’ Park staged a trio of major international matches during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and has also played host to rugby league's Magic Weekend for the past two seasons.

The next stage of the bidding process to award the host of the three events sees a shortlist of candidate cities drawn up by tournament organisers, European Professional Club Rugby, by December 16. That is followed by venue visits and a selection process through to March 2017, before a final decision is made in April.

Nick Forbes, leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “Newcastle now has a global reputation for hosting big sporting events following the success of the Rugby World Cup last year, as well as rugby league’s Magic Weekend for two consecutive years with record crowds.

“These top-tier competitions would bring thousands of fans into the city from all over Europe, with this year’s tournament in Grand Stade de Lyon attracting over 58,000 spectators. Securing this for Newcastle would bring enormous economic benefits for the city and wider region.”

The Northern Echo:

Lee Charnley, managing director of Newcastle United, above, said: “We have a strong recent history of hosting major rugby events at St James’ Park. The sell-out crowds we have welcomed - record attendances in many cases - pay testament to our ability to excel at the hosting of such high-profile sporting events. We would be delighted to host the 2018 European Rugby Champions Cup final at St James’ Park.”

Mick Hogan, managing director of Newcastle Rugby Limited, added: “Securing the 2018 finals would be another significant boost for the development and growth of rugby in the region.

“The city has two great venues in St James’ Park and Kingston Park Stadium, which would ensure a fantastic weekend of club rugby. When it comes to major events Newcastle upon Tyne always delivers to the very highest levels. We saw that in abundance during last year’s Rugby World Cup, and would see it again if Newcastle was chosen as the host city in 2018.”