"what they (fa) going to do?"

"I signed a legal document with wigan rugby allowing them to use the DW for 50 years"

talking about the FA wanting to ban ground sharing.

Indeed. That would be hilarious them trying to make it stand in court.

would have to pay us off. call it 20 million pls Mr Whelan. That plus council money and lottery which I would imagine we would get and we could build a 20k seater somewhere.

Get a prem league team reserve contract to spread the bills and bingo!

Latics would have to move if this came in to play. How good would it be the DW was our own though? Make behind the goals a terrace!

Well funny, what I dont understand is why a crap team like Wigan Athletic would want a good pitch?? Surely you dont want the likes of Arsenal playing on a lush surface??

We're getting a good deal as it is at the moment. It doesn't make a difference to me either way, but financially at the moment I think it's better for us just renting the place.

Is it though? Could we not get more income by having our own stadium?

What will we do in 50 years time then?

What are they going to do? Relegate Latics.

And build it where though?

I'm not saying we should move I am just saying would we not get more income having our own stadium?

Probably, but not enough to cover the £25m to £30m capital cost of building it in the first place, with the interest on top.

Yes it is. Ian Lenagan has stated it on numerous occasions. We don't have to cough up for the constant pitch reconstructions do we? We don't have to maintain the stadium at all. I'm sure Ian Lenagan has used the term 'bargain' to describe our deal at the moment.

As for the '50 years time' - do you honestly see Wigan Athletic in existence? Whelan will have been long gone & lord knows no-one is going to invest in a small town team like Wigan & bankroll them every week to keep them in the Premiership. Then the penny drops and they dwindle back into the Conference as a Sunday team, watched by a few hundred, with postmen and bin men as players.

Personally, I'm pleased to see Whelan making the position clear.

It always seemed pretty unlikely that a few Premiership football clubs could bring something like this about, overruling a 50-year contact that Wigan RL have with the DW, purely because it inconveniences them once a year. But to see the big man make it plain that this is pie in the sky is quite satisfying.

The journos in the nationals will now have to look for something else to get excited about.

This will shut the football fans up once and for all.

The rugby are at the dw to stay for the next 40 odd years. That will put an end to all the rubish you are going to get evicted comments.

Could someone please post the link from where the original post was taken.

theres a beltin plot right next to the dougie. Its currently a Tesco Extra....

In 50 years time a new stadium will be needed anyway no matter whose playing in it

Fingers crossed Latics go down and go bust then we can buy the stadium off Whelan dirt cheap

if they going in administartion we could put a £5 bid in and the offer would have to be listened to....hhhmmm

Please post the link.

Got it from Observer Rogues.

Cheers,
now for some fun.

The DW will be out of date in 50 years without renovation, if its not already sunk into the swamp by then!

I mean wasnt the willows one of the most up to date stadium in the late 60's?

You only have to look at Wrexham and to see how keen they were to get the Crusaders on board to know owning a stadium is not any guarantee of income. If you own a sizeable ground in order to make it pay you need to use it more than from Feb to October every other week.

Even Man Utd let Old Trafford be used for other events and they don't do it out of charity. Trying to upgrade Central Park with the Whitbread Stand was a big reason the club got into debt and had to sell the place. I remember being quite proud the club was doing the ground up and looking forward but it helped see us lose the place.

Dave

Front and Back Page Headlines in this weeks Wigan Observer.

That should mean the Wigan evening post will have it printed in about 2.5 - 3 weeks.