A NEW four-year deal has been agreed for the Judgement Day double-header with the Dragons no longer having to automatically forfeit a home fixture.
The Rodney Parade region will switch their Guinness PRO14 encounter with the Scarlets from Newport to Principality Stadium on Saturday, April 7 (kick-off 3pm, Cardiff Blues v Ospreys at 5.15pm).
However, from next season it will no longer be just the eastern regions that give up home advantage for the double-header.
Previously, theDragons, Blues and Welsh Rugby Union shared income from gate receipts but now the deal will be with all four teams.
The Scarlets and Ospreys will take turns as 'home' teams in the new arrangement with 80 per cent of profits being split between the hosts with the two away teams getting 20 per cent.
The WRU and regions will work with PRO14 chiefs to try and ensure that the teams with 11 home games in the 21-fixture regular season are the nominated hosts on Judgement Day, ensuring the quartet all get 10 games on home soil throughout the campaign.
"We have evolved our approach to the Judgement Day concept over the years, it has become a must-see attraction in Welsh rugby's annual calendar and a celebration of the regional game," said WRU chief executive Martyn Phillips.
"We have been working hard on ensuring that the event goes from strength to strength and a fundamentally collaborative approach, ensuring all four teams are now fully incentivised financially as well as competitively on the field, is the way forward.
"Judgement Day attendances have broken the 60,000 mark for the last three years, this is consistently the top fixture in the PRO14 calendar and we will be doing everything in our power to ensure it comes back even bigger and better at the culmination of a huge season for Welsh rugby ahead of RWC 2019."
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