I think Headingley and Hudds are probably the 2 best stadiums for the semis.

August 8th/9th is the kick off to the new season for the football league. Premier League clubs will be having their final pre season games, which for many are big bucks against big european sides.

Reebok is available on the 9th August according to the ground staff takes about 5 hours to change the ground round. So they could hold both on the same day there but think the BBC will want one Saturday and one Sunday

As long as it doesn't have to be an RL stadium - take your pick...

City of Manchester. Old Trafford, even with the top tiers shut. Goodison. Anfield. Ewood Park. Bolton.

They probably cost to much. Back in the 80s football clubs saw extra games as good extra revenue. They get so much for tv rights these days they don't need that extra revenue.

Reebok would have been good though.

Football fixtures aren't confirmed (for the Premier League) until 16th June, but the season starts on August 15th. Very unlikely that any football ground would allow a rugby game to 'mess up the pitch' a week before the start of the season.

Bolton would have been a good option imo.

Its in the hight of the growing season no problem with a week for the pitch to recover

I don't buy that. Apart from your worldwide clubs like Man U, football clubs rarely make decent profits, and most, particularly your Boltons and Blackburns of this world would, I feel, love more money coming in.

Aside frm the ground issues, I just feel that the RFL are just not ambitious enough on these things. They'll throw money at Magic Weekend, but won't throw it at the semi finals of our oldest and most prestigious competition, not to mention a competition that is respected in the sporting world, is protected by law as a 'crown jewel' event and everyone has bloody heard of!

Is that when the football fixtures are announced to the public? If so then surely the fixtures are confirmed now and just under embargo?

That is correct. As i have said the Reebok is available on the Sunday My Grandsons other Granddad is on the ground staff there.

widnes will be enough. Last time we had wire there everyone was whining about tickets but the fact was it didn't sell out

Both clubs now have more season ticket holders and higher attendances and a 13.500 capacity is not a lot for a local derby

Widnes or Wire would make sense for Saints and Hudds, and Wigan v Wire should be at Galpharm or Headingley

Why on earth would 2 sides no more than 12 miles apart be made to travel all the way over to Yorkshire now that one is a No Brainer

And being against Warrington again I can see us not taking as many as we would normally do, and I don't blame those who don't go because of it.

Last time they had around 500ish in our stand and a big number of them were a disgrace during the game (Particularly HT & 2nd half).

As long as if it's all ticket we get the larger proportion equivalent to Season Ticket sales then I'm ok with Widnes!

One thing we will get at Widnes is one hell of an atmosphere!

6,500 tickets each, ram packed and it'll be bouncing.

Surely we should get a larger proportion????

i.e 1f it hold 14k and Wigan have 9k Season ticket holders to Wire 6k (Made up figures I know but you know what I mean!) then surely we should get 50% more ticket allocation???????

i.e 5750 to Wire & 8250 to Wigan??????????

Headingley has got the Ashes test the same weekend.

Doubt the RFL or Wire going for that but i get your point.

If it holds just shy of 14k both clubs will more then likely get 6,500 ish with a few being held back for the club that sells out the quickest.

Both clubs get same amount of tickets to sell - irrespective of season ticket numbers. Its only when a club doesnt sell its allocation then the other one can "request" them to sell as there own.

Fair or not - thats how it will be

As I said before, though. There will be a lot of people thinking that it's not even worth the bother trying to get tickets, as there won't be enough of them.

Those who don't have season tickets, for instance (like me), have to make do with what is left, and the supporters who would just turn up on the day, won't.

I know the semi didn't sell last time but back then it fell a week after Easter in which we'd been to Saints away and played Wire at home and also they had about 2 and half weeks to sell tickets.

Saints away or a wire cup semi? If you can only afford one of them?

This time there are going to be about 9 weeks to sell tickets (which won't be needed). Thats a massive difference. Personally I think the tickets will sell out within a day or two (maybe less).

Us Wigan fans are much more hungry starved for cup success than we were in 2004, when we'd won it two years previous and also at that time had, had three Grand Finals in 4 years.

the semi venue as been decided so stop the WHINGING

Didn't know about the Ashes game

And Heaven forbid that we are made to travel for an hour?!?!