Warriors still on course for London game
Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2015 9:07 am
IAN Lenagan says Wigan are on course to tying up an ‘on the road’ home game in 2016.
The Warriors moved a match from the DW Stadium to London last season to strengthen their ties in the capital.
At the time, Lenagan said they intended to repeat the move next season.
And he revealed plans are progressing to stage one of their 11 regular-season Super League matches to the Big Smoke.
“We’re close to it,” he said. “We need to speak some more but we need want it to be a regular season game, rather than a Super 8s game, because it would give us more time to market the game and sell tickets.”
Lenagan ranked attracting a crowd of 8,101 to Millwall’s The Den for their last London adventure as one of the highlights of last season.
He said if the game went ahead in 2016, it would almost certainly be at the same venue – Fulham and QPR had previously been touted as possible hosts.
The move was not without its critics, with some fans unhappy they had to make a 450-mile round trip to watch a game which would otherwise have been played at the DW Stadium.
Lenagan, though, said it was important to broaden Wigan’s supporter-base and corporate ties. The club launched a London Business Club last season and operates an office on Buckingham Palace Road.
Under the radical structure introduced this year, clubs only know their first 23 fixtures – up until the end of July – before the competition breaks into the Super 8s phase, when each get seven extra games.
http://www.wigantoday.net/sport/wigan-w ... 1-7601355?
The Warriors moved a match from the DW Stadium to London last season to strengthen their ties in the capital.
At the time, Lenagan said they intended to repeat the move next season.
And he revealed plans are progressing to stage one of their 11 regular-season Super League matches to the Big Smoke.
“We’re close to it,” he said. “We need to speak some more but we need want it to be a regular season game, rather than a Super 8s game, because it would give us more time to market the game and sell tickets.”
Lenagan ranked attracting a crowd of 8,101 to Millwall’s The Den for their last London adventure as one of the highlights of last season.
He said if the game went ahead in 2016, it would almost certainly be at the same venue – Fulham and QPR had previously been touted as possible hosts.
The move was not without its critics, with some fans unhappy they had to make a 450-mile round trip to watch a game which would otherwise have been played at the DW Stadium.
Lenagan, though, said it was important to broaden Wigan’s supporter-base and corporate ties. The club launched a London Business Club last season and operates an office on Buckingham Palace Road.
Under the radical structure introduced this year, clubs only know their first 23 fixtures – up until the end of July – before the competition breaks into the Super 8s phase, when each get seven extra games.
http://www.wigantoday.net/sport/wigan-w ... 1-7601355?
