Wigan Warriors and Wigan Athletic close to agreement over DW Stadium

[Blaze Meister]

They are our enemy, and we should sup with them with a very long spoon. All of this stuff around “sharing” has repeatedly been shown to be a one way street and we will continue to get shafted on any occasion that there is a clash. The idea of Radlinski negotiating a deal with this lot inspires no confidence at all.

Life is a long song, though, and one day we will find a way out, either through their complete collapse , an alternative stadium or an independent company running the place.

You had your own Stadium, and paid a very heavy price for years of success that your own fans demanded...

[josie andrews]

To be fair, Huddersfield Giants and Hull FC pay close to £1million a year to use their shared stadiums,
Warriors haven't paid anywhere near that much for donkey's years...

Why should they when money from Central Park was used towards the building of it & it is supposed to be equally shared by both clubs? Unfortunately this is not the case anymore, & as already been said, a third party with no links to either club should own the stadium.

That's a fallacy Josie.
The JJB Stadium (as was) was never meant for Wigan Warriors.
It was Wigan Athletic and Orrell RU.
Warriors ex owners Jack Robinson and Tom Rathbone pocketed the proceeds of the sale of Central Park, before they sold the club to Dave Whelan.

Thank you for clearing that up, but it is still supposed to be a shared stadium.

I have no gripe with Wigan Athletic at all, unlike some other posters, I always look for their results & always hope they do well for the sake of the town & all our local sports, but I do feel that the Warriors are treated harshly at times.

[Wintergreen]

I thought that planning permission was given to build the DW stadium on condition that it was shared between the football and rugby clubs for x years.

I haven't seen the fine print or the contract, but I am sure that was the message given to us by the council at the time.

[Blaze Meister]

Why should they when money from Central Park was used towards the building of it & it is supposed to be equally shared by both clubs? Unfortunately this is not the case anymore, & as already been said, a third party with no links to either club should own the stadium.

That's a fallacy Josie.
The JJB Stadium (as was) was never meant for Wigan Warriors.
It was Wigan Athletic and Orrell RU.
Warriors ex owners Jack Robinson and Tom Rathbone pocketed the proceeds of the sale of Central Park, before they sold the club to Dave Whelan.

Thank you for clearing that up, but it is still supposed to be a shared stadium.

I have no gripe with Wigan Athletic at all, unlike some other posters, I always look for their results & always hope they do well for the sake of the town & all our local sports, but I do feel that the Warriors are treated harshly at times.

It is.

Like I said, Huddersfield Giants & Hull FC pay nearly £1million a year for their respective ground shares.

Warriors prior to the pandemic, were paying less than £300k a year.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, our new owners want to make an annual profit on the Stadium, so that means no more "mate's rate's" like you had it with Dave Whelan.

[Blaze Meister]

I thought that planning permission was given to build the DW stadium on condition that it was shared between the football and rugby clubs for x years.

I haven't seen the fine print or the contract, but I am sure that was the message given to us by the council at the time.

Correct.
But it was originally for Wigan Athletic & Orrell RU.

Warriors were heading for the Reebok at Horwich before Dave Whelan stepped in.

[Exiled Wiganer]

We are where we are for now, and the wheel will turn one day. We should have bought the ground when they were bust (happy days), but they have already shown they can’t pay for themselves, so it’s just a matter of time before another set of creditors is left high and dry. There’ll be another chance soon enough. We just need to be patient.
All we can do is support our team and our game in the meantime.

[Blaze Meister]

We are where we are for now, and the wheel will turn one day. We should have bought the ground when they were bust (happy days), but they have already shown they can’t pay for themselves, so it’s just a matter of time before another set of creditors is left high and dry. There’ll be another chance soon enough. We just need to be patient.
All we can do is support our team and our game in the meantime.

You are where you are now because of Delusions of Grandeur.
And by the sounds of it, you haven't learnt your lesson...

[jobo]

We are where we are for now, and the wheel will turn one day. We should have bought the ground when they were bust (happy days), but they have already shown they can’t pay for themselves, so it’s just a matter of time before another set of creditors is left high and dry. There’ll be another chance soon enough. We just need to be patient.
All we can do is support our team and our game in the meantime.

You are where you are now because of Delusions of Grandeur.
And by the sounds of it, you haven't learnt your lesson...

Delusions of grandeur.

Nice attempt at trolling.

[morley pie eater]

That's a fallacy Josie.
The JJB Stadium (as was) was never meant for Wigan Warriors.
It was Wigan Athletic and Orrell RU.
Warriors ex owners Jack Robinson and Tom Rathbone pocketed the proceeds of the sale of Central Park, before they sold the club to Dave Whelan.

Thank you for clearing that up, but it is still supposed to be a shared stadium.

I have no gripe with Wigan Athletic at all, unlike some other posters, I always look for their results & always hope they do well for the sake of the town & all our local sports, but I do feel that the Warriors are treated harshly at times.

It is.

Like I said, Huddersfield Giants & Hull FC pay nearly £1million a year for their respective ground shares.

Warriors prior to the pandemic, were paying less than £300k a year.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, our new owners want to make an annual profit on the Stadium, so that means no more "mate's rate's" like you had it with Dave Whelan.

I don't know the details, but I suspect you may not be comparing like-for-like, even if your figures are correct (Huddersfield and £1m don't sit easily in the same sentence).

The deal for renting a stadium can include (or exclude) income from advertising, bars, costs of ticketing, marshalls or whatever, and much more. From memory Whelan got all the match day income, which could go some way to explaining the difference with Huddersfield or Hull.

I also believe that Hull City Council own the KC stadium (or did)? Completely different situation than with Whelan, who owned both clubs, or with private owners.

[Exiled Wiganer]

I am pretty sure the Hull Local Authority owns their ground. If we had a proper Chief Executive, rather than a well meaning ex player with zero credentials for the role, I would be 1) all over the planning conditions, 2) looking at what was said at the time, 3) in the press and in fans forums explaining the position clearly and how they are going to defend our best interests and 4) looking closely at alternative options.
That said, there will be another chance once this lot cuts their losses to put in a compelling bid to buy it.

Plus, the costs of building afresh or converting stadia will drop over time. There comes a point at which the cost benefit analysis - including our ability to pit ourselves against Pathetics and damage their business model - gives us a hand worth playing. The equation is simple enough - what benefits could we get from our own stadium - cheap as chips like Saints or Wire - set against the lack of control over our ability to play when we want and the hostility from the Pathetics? It wouldn’t take much to tip the balance in favour of going our own way, and if that damages them, excellent.

I have neither the time nor the skills to put together a business plan, but there would be clear value every which way in either buying the stadium when whoever has bought it realises it’s a money bonfire, or else considering the advantages in merchandise, other opportunities to rent out our own ground, and, indeed being able to play when we want. Others have done precisely that - with our billionaire minority shareholder in place, it could be done if they try to impose a high rent, and ridiculous restrictions. I suspect it is beyond IL and KR, but owners change, and we are and always will be Wigan.