Lived in Teesside for a while many years ago and its an isolated place (a little similar to Hull really) even places that are relatively near such as Newcastle and the North Yorkshire Moors are seen as far away lands by the locals. They stick to Football and that is it, im not aware of any other sport having a stronghold there.
Interested to see what they will do to promote the World Cup game at the Riverside, it won't be an England game and even Australia, New Zealand or Tonga will struggle to draw a crowd in a 34k stadium without a lot of time and money spent on promo. And while I enjoyed my time in the area it isnt a place people would choose for a weekend away.
