It can be a soulless entity at times and never really feels like home in the way Central Park used to. But on occasions when the place is full it can and does generate a good atmosphere. There is nothing wrong with the Stadium in itself, its the sharing with the Latics that keeps this debate fueled.

At the end of the day we get a very good deal out of the arrangement. While it would be nice to have our own place, that is just wishful sentiment. From an objective business point of view it makes perfect sense to stay where we are.

( I would like a stadium with a standing terrace though...)

Hypothetically speaking, if Waitrose wanted to build a store in Wigan or Morrisons/Sainsburys wanted to re-locate to another area of the town the council would certainly expect something in return to be put back (or contributed) into the community.

And that's just focusing on the supermarket industry.

What are you not happy with particularly, the ground share? the location, the stadium itself?

Its a travesty that Central park was never developed, but the reality of the situation is that we were shafted big time and now rent a stadium. I still think we are far better off buying some of the stadium we currently rent, therefore at least we get an extra income stream from corporate and wont get turfed out everytime Latics feel like it.

I like the DW.
Not too difficult to get to from the M58.
Designated parking.
Good access.
Fantastic view from my season ticket seat.
Fans have made it home with all the flags and have done a fantastic job with that. It looks like Wigan's home ground to me.
OK that's thanks to the fans but they make or break a ground which ever club it is.
IL says it is simply not viable to build a stand alone stadium. Also if the two were competting for the small corporate market in Wigan they'd both probably go broke.
We have a very long lease on favourable terms.
Not seen the pics of Saints ground but I'm sure it looks good.
They will be paying it off for years and in the end will probably have to ground share with another sporting club.
Ground sharing doesn't bother me. HullFC do it as do Hudds and Leeds. It's a financial fact of life and it doesn't bother me one jot!

THIS.

Why dont we knock TESCO down and build it on Central Park?

No seriously I think our current stadium is now our home.

Anything else is just a pipedream.

a new stadium would be along the lines of a HJ, rather than a DW, so we could kiss goodbye to internationals and WCC in Wigan.

Im happy with the DW, good location, parking, top facilities, only downside is having to share it with a championship footy team

see nothing wrong with the DW in all honestly and i don't really support the tics, neither am i bothered that we share with them. i only caught the last couple of years at CP so there is no issue here if you may be thinking i;ve only ever supported wigan at the DW / JJB as it was back then.

a NEED for a stadium will come when we know we won't have one or the current one is no longer up to the standards set. at present we know we have a home for the future and it does meet the standards required so i see no issue.

just because saints get a new stadium - they HAD to move to a new stadium otherwsie they risked their SL licence i'd imagine? us wiganers are getting very jealous these days



wigan are in a superb position financially and structurally in my opinion with a great youth development programme along with coaching and back room staff etc, why deter from that by plowing a fortune into a new stadium and upsetting the rhythm when its not necessary?

In a perfect world it would be great but the pros out way the cons of (what I'm sure most of us want) having our own ground.

Saints already seem to be sinking finacially and yes their ground will be amazing but IMO they will struggle massaively, especially with the depleting crowds.

We are in profit for the first time in years why should we change that?

Who knows whats in store for latics finances 'should/if/WHEN' they go down and that along with us being profitable may well lead a very romantic road for us

It's Wigan Athletic's stadium designed for Football which we merely rent. It's not home, it's just a football stadium. It doesn't have character or any sort of identity that relates the the club and I think that's reflected on to match day atmosphere's other than big games. There's no matchday experience or freedom to walk along a terrace and interact with different people which is what Rugby League is about. As I walked around the new Saints stadium I already could sense their new identity and how proud they are of their own, modern home ground that people will see for miles and know that it belongs to St Helens RLFC.

That's my opinion anyway, each to their own. However, I think some of our supporters conentment of the DW will soon turn to jealousy in 10 years time.

...And I'm not too proud to say I'm jealous.

i like the DW good view of the pitch from all stands, great location (for me

), top notch facilities but it does at times lack atmosphere. if you had to do pros and cons for me the pros win.

i do wonder if we need more games on a saturday night though i think its the perfect day as apposed to people rushing home from work on a friday night i know people work on weekends but the majority work mon - fri and having a sat night game gives people the chance to enjoy the build up and after match

To be honest, it would have to be a very special ground to make me jealous.

For example, I'm not remotely jealous of Warrington's ground. It's solid and serviceable enough, but it still reminds me of something an amateur club would use.

How would you feel about the DW if - say, Wigan bought a chiunk of it? Serious question, because there are rumours to that effect.

It wouldn't alter my opinion of the place, though I'd be pleased if it opens up additional revenue for the Club.

If we could revamp it to include terracing and add more of Rugby League character to the stadium I could relate it to the club.

So, I'd probably say yes.

The DW is a crap stadium overall imo but most new ones are just flat pack thrown together stadiums. We would need to build a stadium that holds about 25,000 too otherwise we would sell ourselves short on a few games. That would cost a few quid to build im guessing.

At the moment theres no need for us to change anything as we are doing well on and off the field. I reckon if we carry on as we are for another few years there will be an option to buy the DW at a cheapish price. Theres only so long Latics can stay alive.

Building our own stadium just inst viable im afraid.

Have you overheard another conversation or is it not really something that you just can't put on here?

The DW is the best rugby league stadium in the country and we should be proud of it.
Good facilities good view from wherever you are in the stadium.
Excellent parking around the ground
Good disabled facilities (where are the disabled facilities at Warrington?)
Good corporate facilities
Good media facilities.

Saints have fallen into the same trap that Warrington have by not having an all seated stadium.
We are proud to call rugby league a family sport and yet we continually harp on about having terraced areas at stadiums. Try going to Warrington and watching the game from the away end while kneeling down and you will get an idea of what its like for kids and anyone under 5'6" tall. It will be the same at Saints, you will see dads taking kids to a brand new stadium and taking a milk crate for them to stand on.

Long live the DW, it's a great stadium.

I was right though wasn't I.
Sorry, it is something that I can't really post on here as it was in discussion with someone who is quite high up at a Superleague Club.

I'd love to know why people think it might be worthwhile the club part-owning the DW. It would make absolutely no commercial sense whatsoever.

How much do people really think the stadium makes in profit from corporate and other commercial activities on match days, and why would it be worth spending £millions to get this, especially when we then couldn't sell the stadium if we wanted if we were only part-owners. Add to this the running costs we'd then have to take on.

Right about what the earth shattering news that Mossop wasn't playing - yep I can really see why you couldn't post it, but just had to tell everyone that you knew. You really are a bit too old for that type of stuff aren't you?

Actually, given the above you obviously aren't. I'm firmly in the put up or shut up camp.

From a financial point of view the DW is the place to be and related to facilities the KC is the only stadium which can match it. Saints new ground while it is their own will just be the HJ with corners and a slightly higher capacity. It will still look a bit like lego.

From a a die hard fan point of view, I would pick our own stadium even if it did look like lego any day of the week.

Anybody seen the original plans for a 20k stadium where central park was?

Anyway, I honestly do not believe latics will be maintained as a premierleague club, they will end up switching between league 1 and 2 and I fully believe one day we will get the chance to make this stadium our own. I honestly believe that. It will begin if latics get relegated this season. I would love eventually to have a standing section in the back half of the south stand and maybe in the North stand as well.

Do attendances reflect that a majority don't like the stadium? NO, so right now we do not have a major problem and we have one of the top two facilities in the league.

Lets be honest the only serious difference between our place and saints new ground is that they have their own badge on it and nobody elses and they are in a shed load of debt.

Quote ="Arthur Warrior"Good disabled facilities (where are the disabled facilities at Warrington?) '" www.warringtonwolves.org/disable ... rters-info Quote ="Arthur Warrior" Saints have fallen into the same trap that Warrington have by not having an all seated stadium. We are proud to call rugby league a family sport and yet we continually harp on about having terraced areas at stadiums. Try going to Warrington and watching the game from the away end while kneeling down and you will get an idea of what its like for kids and anyone under 5'6" tall. It will be the same at Saints, you will see dads taking kids to a brand new stadium and taking a milk crate for them to stand on. '" What about the adults who work hard and pay for a ticket and want to stand. The HJ is perfect in that it is 50% standing 50% seating. He's a thought next time you come to the HJ, buy a ticket in the North stand, rocket science it ain't.

Quote ="Arthur Warrior"Good disabled facilities (where are the disabled facilities at Warrington?) '" www.warringtonwolves.org/disable ... rters-info Quote ="Arthur Warrior" Saints have fallen into the same trap that Warrington have by not having an all seated stadium. We are proud to call rugby league a family sport and yet we continually harp on about having terraced areas at stadiums. Try going to Warrington and watching the game from the away end while kneeling down and you will get an idea of what its like for kids and anyone under 5'6" tall. It will be the same at Saints, you will see dads taking kids to a brand new stadium and taking a milk crate for them to stand on. '" What about the adults who work hard and pay for a ticket and want to stand. The HJ is perfect in that it is 50% standing 50% seating. He's a thought next time you come to the HJ, buy a ticket in the North stand, rocket science it ain't.

It used to bother the heck out of me. But over the years I've just come to except it. It can be a soulless stadium at times. But facilities wise and for location it's pretty damn good.

I shall look forward to when we move into our new stadium in around 50+ years time. Fingers crossed I'll be here to see it.