Bid for the ground

Discuss all things Wigan Warriors. Comments and opinions on all aspects of the club's performance are welcome.
Wintergreen
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Joined: Wed May 20, 2015 2:13 pm

Re: Bid for the ground

Post by Wintergreen »

No straw damn us wrote: Wed Jan 06, 2021 10:17 am It's not just buying the ground it's the maintenance costs '. The pitch is a mess, the admins sacked the head groundsman.
The last estimate I heard a few years ago was that the stadium as a whole would need between £4 and £6 million spending on it in the foreseeable future. The Chinese did some of that work, but there is still a lot to do.
Ian Lenagan is very astute, let's wait and see. Orrell hasn't been sold yet!!
Sounds harsh on the face of it.

The ground is built in MARSH Green. Bit of a clue there...........
fozzieskem
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Joined: Sat May 14, 2016 10:54 am

Re: Bid for the ground

Post by fozzieskem »

pedro wrote: Wed Jan 06, 2021 7:31 am
fozzieskem wrote: Tue Jan 05, 2021 10:17 pm
Wiganer Ted wrote: Tue Jan 05, 2021 8:32 pm After all this time it would be interesting to know how many "other bidders" are left.
Cant see there being many now, mind the way the administrator bigged up the ease of sale at the start didn't help himself with his public persona.
its got to be the longest and poorest run sport administration ever
Agreed,the whole process has been a shambles from the off,
No straw damn us
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Re: Bid for the ground

Post by No straw damn us »

Wintergreen wrote: Wed Jan 06, 2021 6:13 pm
No straw damn us wrote: Wed Jan 06, 2021 10:17 am It's not just buying the ground it's the maintenance costs '. The pitch is a mess, the admins sacked the head groundsman.
The last estimate I heard a few years ago was that the stadium as a whole would need between £4 and £6 million spending on it in the foreseeable future. The Chinese did some of that work, but there is still a lot to do.
Ian Lenagan is very astute, let's wait and see. Orrell hasn't been sold yet!!
Sounds harsh on the face of it.

The ground is built in MARSH Green. Bit of a clue there...........
The pitch was fine for the last couple of years after the Chinese had paid for the new Desso pitch. However it has not been maintained, no heat lamps etc
jao711
Posts: 519
Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2007 8:36 pm

Re: Bid for the ground

Post by jao711 »

No straw damn us wrote: Wed Jan 06, 2021 10:17 am It's not just buying the ground it's the maintenance costs '. The pitch is a mess, the admins sacked the head groundsman.
The last estimate I heard a few years ago was that the stadium as a whole would need between £4 and £6 million spending on it in the foreseeable future. The Chinese did some of that work, but there is still a lot to do.
Ian Lenagan is very astute, let's wait and see. Orrell hasn't been sold yet!!
Where would you spend £4/6million on the DW?m
Nezza Faz
Posts: 1932
Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2011 10:05 pm

Re: Bid for the ground

Post by Nezza Faz »

In some respects, elite training facilities, community work, academy/reserve grade (in the future, obviously), Education, Hospitality and so on, the investment in Robin Park is becoming a 'gold chest'.
This together with the future sale of the Orrell set-up and the Central Park facility(?) will at the same time add to the Club's financial performance in the seasons ahead.
Sympathy to Latics though for their predicament, anyone know how the situation is regarding a takeover ?
josie andrews
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Re: Bid for the ground

Post by josie andrews »

Jonathan Jackson: Wigan Athletic plight 'beyond belief

Jonathan Jackson has lifted the lid for the first time on the ‘demoralising and upsetting’ period that has seen Wigan Athletic rocked to its very core.

It’s just over six months since Latics were placed into administration by its former owners and Jackson was made redundant from his post as chief executive.

With the proposed Spanish takeover having collapsed this week, interested parties have been given until today to resubmit their proposals.

And Jackson – a lifelong Latics fan, as well as CEO for a decade – is praying for some long-awaited positive news.

“I can’t really believe it’s six months on, and we’re still here talking about administrators and a very uncertain future,” he said.

“That’s very demoralising and upsetting really, because I think we all believed it would be resolved and concluded much sooner than this.

“The last three months have been disappointing, for whatever reason we have been in a state of limbo, and that’s not helped the football club.

“As we go into January, that certainly doesn’t help matters, with the restrictions placed on our ability to recruit players into the squad.

We hoped the club would be in a position by now to start looking at the squad and perhaps strengthening it, but we’re still in administration and that’s tough to take.”

Jackson spent the first three months of administration voluntarily helping out, before being shut out after the Spanish bid was accepted on September 30.

And he says he’s desperate for a successful resolution – not least for the long-suffering staff who have been put through the wringer.

“The last three months for me have been difficult, having not been involved since the offer from the Spanish was accepted,” he added on the 'Progress With Unity' podcast..

“Unfortunately we have lost a lot of staff who have been with us for a very long time, and it’s well-publicised that the Spanish told members of staff they were overpaid and would have to take a pay-cut.

“As a first meeting with your prospective new bosses, I don’t think that was the right way to go about things...in fact, I know that wasn’t the right way to go about things.

“And that had a huge impact on members of staff who were already going through a wide range of other things.”

https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/footba ... ef-3088750
Anyone can support a team when it is winning, that takes no courage.
But to stand behind a team, to defend a team when it is down and really needs you,
that takes a lot of courage. #18thMan
josie andrews
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Re: Bid for the ground

Post by josie andrews »

Frampton group back in for Wigan Athletic

Tony Frampton has revealed his Far East consortium WILL be returning for a second crack at buying Wigan Athletic – before Friday’s deadline for revised entries.

The club remains up for sale after the Spanish bidders – backed by Leganes owner Felipe Moreno – sensationally dropped out of the race on Tuesday morning.

Their proposal – which was tweaked on several occasions – had been with the EFL for more than three months waiting for approval.

And after they slashed their offer in half at the 12th hour – having already transferred the money into their solicitors’ bank account – it finally collapsed.

That’s left the door open for a number of rival bidders who were pipped to the post back in September.

And Frampton, whose bid would make a huge investment into the local community as well as the club, says he’s not surprised at recent events.

“It was expected, I have to say,” he told Wigan Today.

“There were obviously issues around the previous bid, then they tried to rejig it, and now they’ve gone, and it’s back on the table.”

When asked whether his consortium would now be at the front of the queue, he replied: “We don’t know who’s in the queue yet.

“To say we’re at the front, the middle or the back, I suppose that’s a decision that will be made by the administrators when they see who’s coming in and making a bid.

"They’ve made contact with us, and put forward their criteria for what they would like to sell it for.

“Obviously that has changed, because of what’s happened since the previous bids, with some assets having been sold.

“There’s also the possibility that other players could go during January, even though that’s not been factored in to the revised price.

"We’ve got that now, we’re now in the process of reviewing what they’ve submitted, and we’ll come back to them.”

Wigan-born Frampton had previously bemoaned the ‘exclusivity’ conditions favoured by the admins, which prevented his group doing anything after the Spanish tabled their deposit.

Despite the Supporters Club and Wigan MP Lisa Nandy calling for the process to be left wide open – which the EFL say they are happy with – co-administrator Paul Stanley insists the first deposit received will again guarantee first crack at it.

And Frampton is shocked there’s not been a rethink.

“The admins have told us they’d like us to reply by January 8 at the latest,” he said. “However, if they were to receive a bid prior to that, they would be free to enter into another period of exclusivity with that particular group.

“Now, doesn’t that sound a little bit like that just happened with the Spanish?

“I would have thought a more prudent way of doing it would be to get everything in before the deadline, see what’s on the table, see the quality of the bids that have been submitted, then do their own due diligence...and this is before even thinking about getting the EFL involved.

“You make sure you have someone who will pass the Owners and Directors Test – and the criteria is well set out in the documents they’ve circulated to all the bidders.

“The EFL are willing to look at more than one bid at once, so I’m wondering what’s the rush in taking the first offer on the table... and possibly going through all this again in three-to-six months’ time.

“That to me seems dangerous for Wigan Athletic. Surely they ought to have learned something from this exercise with the Spanish?”

With the admins needing money to pay the February wages, Frampton continued: “One way of doing it would be to put money into an escrow account.

“That way if you do have two or three credible bids – and you’re not going to have more than that – then you ask them all to put down a secure deposit that way.

“Obviously then whichever bid is successful, you use that money, and the other unsuccessful bids have their money returned.

“It’s simple, it’s not rocket science. We do this for a living. This is normal.

“I just don’t understand why the situation is being over-complicated.

“Begbies shouldn’t just be acting like a postman in taking a deposit and passing the parcel over to the EFL.

“They’ve got a job to do, and they’ve got to make sure the bids they’re passing through are going to complete the purchase.”

Frampton also says his group haven’t lost any of their enthusiasm to complete a deal despite seemingly having missed out last time.

“There was obviously a cooling-off period, because we were getting told all the time that things were progressing with the Spanish,” he added.

“We thought things were dead in the water, so we didn’t push any more.

“The fact it’s come back again, I’ve spoken to the founder of the company on numerous occasions, I told him to expect the email from Begbies, which was received, and he replied to them straight away.

“If you’re asking are we keen to move, the answer is ‘yes’. But we also need a little bit of time just to take in what’s happened, and what is now on the table in terms of assets, price, and how that reflects on the previous bid.

“Seriously, money is not the issue. It’s just making sure what we’re getting in to.

"I don’t see anything untoward in terms of the prices or figures I’ve seen. We’ve been sent projected running costs for the next couple of years, which is also not an issue, nor is proof of funds."

https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/footba ... arsely-api
Anyone can support a team when it is winning, that takes no courage.
But to stand behind a team, to defend a team when it is down and really needs you,
that takes a lot of courage. #18thMan
Exiled Wiganer
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Re: Bid for the ground

Post by Exiled Wiganer »

I assume we want IL to buy the ground, and, if not, to make sure we are protected. I don’t care what league they are in, from our perspective I simply want to see a change in the Latics’ contempt for us we have seen over the years.
josie andrews
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Re: Bid for the ground

Post by josie andrews »

Whoever gave the administration job to Begbies must be wondering what the heck is going on because they are lining their own pockets to the continuing demise of the Latics.

It’s such a shame that the fans didn’t want Mr Lenegan & his consortium or it could have been sorted out months ago & maybe not to the detriment that has come with the sale of assets & players.

That’s my opinion anyway & I feel sorry for the club, the employees who lost their jobs, the players & fans!
Anyone can support a team when it is winning, that takes no courage.
But to stand behind a team, to defend a team when it is down and really needs you,
that takes a lot of courage. #18thMan
morley pie eater
Posts: 3219
Joined: Tue May 02, 2006 2:01 pm

Re: Bid for the ground

Post by morley pie eater »

I don't follow Latics and don't see much news about the situation here in darkest Yorkshire.

I'm not sure that I'd celebrate Leneghan taking over - haven't we been there before with the lovely Mr Whelan? (Bet I can guess who paid for that statue of him btw :lol: )

How would co-owning a 4th Division football club help us?

As has been said, the ground is too big for us. It's also soul-less. A ground like Saints, Wire, or Leigh, with 50/50 seats and terracing and a capacity of 18,000 or so would be best. Easily maintained not built on a bog, and less of a drain on resources. A no-brainer for me.
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