Because on a cold day, the concrete is freezing on your @rse!

i didnt like leaving CP having watched there since the late 50s.....but now consider the jjb (i still refuse to recognise the meglomaniac) to be our "home" regardless of the fact we dont own it.
Excellent facilities, excellent view from practically every seat....and SEATS......us oldies dont like standing up for over 2 hours after walking from the town centre.

now...Whelans selling off Latics so his kids dont inherit the huge debts....so its possible he might sell the stadium?
which brings in a good hypothetical question for Lenegan at the fans forum?........if the stadium came up for sale, would he consider buying it?..and if not...why not?

Who would want to buy a stadium? A buyers market for sure, it's not like there are many sporting teams that need a 25k stadium in Wigan.

Ah, didn't mean to infer any character on the DW. It's a concrete box just like all new stadia. However it's light years ahead of CP in terms of facilities, I have many great memories from CP and very few from DW which doesn't help either.

I think if CP were still there and had the remaining 3 sides redeveloped then we would have ended up with a concrete box, with some standing facilities. It wouldn't be the CP I remember growing up with, I suppose the Douglas Stand would still be there as was and would also represent a large cost to redevelop with the river flowing next to it (I expect this would also present a safety-at-sports-grounds issue too with limits exit routes for the crowd).

I would suggest that it is FAR too early for IL to show his hand.... There is no way he will make any overtures or even suggestions to buy the place yet, even if it is his intention.

Agreed.

It's only a matter of time before Latics get into serious financial difficulties. Uncle Dave was on the telly last night telling Alan Sugar that he had spent £100m on Latics and now he wanted to find a new benefactor for the club in the next 3-4 years.

I know even Blackburn has foreign owners now but I just can't see which rich benefactor would see Wigan Athletic as a trophy asset they wanted to invest in and spend vast sums propping up, it just doesn't make sense.

IL will be aware that if Latics go bust he will be the first person an administrator will approach to see if he wants to buy the club (which apparently now owns the ground, or does it?). It's difficult to see who else would want to pay much for a club with a small fanbase in football terms and no brand identity whatsoever.

There's no reason for IL to show his hand yet if he would be interested in buying the Latics, all he will do is risk inflating the price he has to pay in future.

On a separate point, those getting over-excited about Saints' stadium should remember it is only 18,000 capacity. That's far too small for a club as big as Wigan.

IL already is already a major shareholder of a football club.

Which means he can't be involved in another.

And says he won't buy the Kassam Stadium for Oxford Utd - which they currently rent as well (at a considerably higher price than we pay for the DW).

Woah, woah, woah. Let's not compare Wigan Athletic to Blackburn Rovers. Don't make me hate you.

Fixed. Ok, midnight tonight. Bring your own bulldozer.

Any sporting business which has 13 home games plus a couple of friendlies and cup games, with an average crowd of less than 17000, paying reasonable ticket prices, wouldn't be able to finance a £25 million stadium. We should rent the JJB for as long as possible, to make the RL club more profitable, and more financially sound, enabling us to move forward with investment in the team, and facilities, giving us the best chance to compete in the league and cups. Had things been done differently when Jack Robinson was around, maybe we could have our own ground, but wasn't there also a risk we wouldn't even have a club back then?

It would give people a choice though - you'd still have your seat, and those who want to stand can do so.
The big advantage of terracing is that the atmosphere is better, because the noisy element can congregate (instead of having the two separate bands in the South & East). When I'm not with my mum. who has to sit down at nearly 80 yrs old, I always choose to go on the terraces at away games, and I always stood up at CP.

I'd like something similar to the Willows setup, or the old Popular stand at CP, with some terracing in front of the seating.

The seating is unreserved. If the noisy element wants to congregate it's just got to get there early enough.

Think it would be great if they ripped the seats out of the east stand and turned it into a terrace. That would sort the atmosphere problem without doubt.

We simply do not have the same income as premier league clubs, they are given around 40million a season according to that alan sugar programe. I bet that is more than our whole league and yet they get it for just one club. Imagine what a club like us could do with that kind of income?

The only thing missing is a gothic tower with a tolling bell .

I think if the opportunity arises were we can buy the whole stadium, to make up for the lack of earnings would be to rent it out to Latics for a bigger price and change everything to rugby league.
If there's a game clash they can find somewhere else to go. Change the stands to cherry and white seats with 'WIGAN RL' all over them. And keep all the flags hung up on the south stand.

If I was you Barmy I'd see someone about the insecurity complex!

Already am

Not when there's no transferring between East & South.

[url=http://www.saintsnewstadium.com/mainOh, I dunno.[/url I think our new stadium will look quite classy. The curves can already be seen onsite and with it being totally enclosed, the atmosphere should be good.

Will the TV microphones be right above you and none in the away end

Mate, it's FAR from perfect! Why would you have a poll to see if the HOME fans want standing and then put it in the AWAY end! Seriously mate, this is not an anti-Wire thing, but I think your place is an appalling ground. I'm a hard working adult (as you put it) but I go with a pensioner father, a 9 year old son and a neice who needs a knee operation. I think that speaks for itself really. And please don't say "well sit somewhere else then". When I go to away games I want to be with the Wigan fans. That's half the fun! I wouldn't mind so much if Wire didn't consistantly oversell the away end anyway. Talk about sardines! Your ground is like a return to the dark ages when Wigan are in town. There should at least be an option of seating...not some archaic 'standing only, whether you like it or not' forced on us. I suppose, in the end, we do get a choice. We can either be crushed together like sardines in a tin or sit away from our friends and fellow fans, stand for several hours or sit on concrete steps and hold your child high enough that he/she can see or let them have a great view of someone else's back. With choices like that, how exactly do you conclude that it's (and I quote) "perfect"? It's one of the worst grounds in SL. Even the Willows offers seating in the away end. Says it all really!

Jesus mate! Talk about think only of yourself!

The West side of the North has some seats allocated to away fans when it's packed and you're still next to 'your own', just not right in the middle of them.
The majority of away fans who come to the HJ love the fact we have terracing and not seats, your situation[Pensioner, 9YO & knee op niece isn't unique but it is rare.
The same could be said in reverse of stadiums like yours, Hulls, Quins, Hudds etc for the majority (and it is a majority) of people who prefer to stand.