Naming rights sold off to a company. Very much like the seats going to Blue and White, it’s just a flexing of the new owners muscles and a way of growing their popularity with the Latics only fans. As a fan of both it’s so disappointing and really not necessary. Why not sell the rights to the other stands first? Well, I know why it’s this one in particular.

I’m off to Bolton to watch Latics tomorrow and it’s actually deflated me a bit. Not sure what they’re trying to achieve.

Biggest stand, biggest income most likely.

Would the size of the stand really matter? The West is where all the income is in terms of hospitality and it’s the main stand in the ground.

Pretty clear to me why it’s been done and I just don’t see the need at all. It won’t push me away from supporting Latics in general but it will probably limit me to away games. It will all die down on time but there’s just no need in the first place.

"for Wigan Athletic fixtures only"

So will it be the Boston Stand for our games?

Maybe a none story then. That isn’t the exact wording in the piece I’ve read on the Latics website but it does mention it being for Latics fixtures, so hopefully it’s staying as is for the Rugby. It still feels like they’re separating the two sides a bit rather than actively trying to bring them together but that’s more understandable.

Alienating potential customers whilst radicalising their tiny fan base.

Quite embarrassing really.

I suppose it’s old ground we’re covering, if it is right that this is just for the football, so that could be my fault for jumping the gun.

I do think there is a genuine effort going in to split the clubs though and that seems strange and pretty sad for people like me. I’ve got mates who are regulars at the rugby but will go to the odd Latics game, if it’s a big cup game for example. I genuinely don’t think they’ll bother going forward if things like the seats are a sign of things to come.

https://wiganathletic.com/news/2021/oct ... -Athletic/ 2nd paragraph. It's does seem to be a show of power for whatever reason. It may be to try and force us to sign deal, or it may just be to try and appeal to the neanderthals. Then again, it might just be an income stream, only for latics games and we're all getting upset over nothing.

https://wiganathletic.com/news/2021/oct ... -Athletic/ 2nd paragraph. It's does seem to be a show of power for whatever reason. It may be to try and force us to sign deal, or it may just be to try and appeal to the neanderthals. Then again, it might just be an income stream, only for latics games and we're all getting upset over nothing.

It says for Wigan Athletic fixtures but doesn’t mention the rugby. It does make it sound like they’re just talking about the football but we’ll see. It would seem weird to have two sets of signs up or to keep changing them on a game by game basis.

I’d love to see them thinking of ways to bring the clubs together but their energy looks to be going in to anything but.

They literally change the boards every week now to brand for whoever plays.

They don't even need to do anything. It'll literally be the name on the tickets that changes.

Just meant the ones outside on the end of the stands, rather than the ads. We can drop a painted bedsheet over them if worse comes to worse. Maybe get those Wire fans to spell it.

I think they'll just put some branding over the turnstiles and leave it there.

Doubt they'll touch the writing on the corner.

I might be wrong, but it's only a stand afterall.

I must admit, for the first time ever, I'm seriously beginning to wonder, after years and years of provocation, if there might be some way we can get away from Latics and their stadium. I'm so sick of the endless petulance and power-struggle politics that seems to surround our life at the DW.

We are Wigan RL, we shouldn't have this endless shadow of minor league football hanging over us, dictating our every move. Even when they were on the verge of disappearing up their own backsides, we were nervous because we didn't know how it was going to affect us (and even then it was our fault, according to the geniuses that follow them).

True we got a decent deal on a 50-year lease, but surely nothing is worth this much hassle? Never knowing how the latest Latics owner is going to relate to us. Never knowing what kind of tricks he's going to employ to try and boost our rent. Never knowing if he has a real plan for the football or is actually looking for a way to sell our home to a developer.

Is it conceivable? I mean in the real world, not as part of some fantasy ... is there any way we can get away from the DW? Is there any possible but realistic way we can cut our ties with this awful little football club?

I'm quite serious about it... is it possible that we can somehow move somewhere else, and leave them to sink or swim on their own?

Wigan rugby’s average attendance has dropped by thousands over the past 10 years. It’s obvious the new owners see the town as a football town now which from a business POV makes perfect sense

I really wish I had a quid for every time I've heard that Wigan is now a football town. It's been going on for years, and all through that time, the sunlight reflecting from our silverware has been blinding eyes all over Warrington.

Going down over a ten year period and still higher than St Helens.

The town is a football town by the way, as is St Helens and pretty much every town and city up and down the country. Most football fans in our town don’t support Wigan sadly and obviously most football fans in St Helens don’t support your football club (presume you have one).

They can't sell the stadium to a developer.

What is now happening at the DW Stadium is only what was expected as a result of the mistakes made during the late nighties when the then board of Directors led by Chairman Jack Robinson sold Central Park to Tesco and Wigan Council decided to side with Dave Whelan rather than making sure that any new Stadium was never owned by either Wigan Athletic AFC or Wigan RLFC, but owned by a independant company like they are in other local authority areas.

A situation where now, a former lttle non league football club which nearly went out of exsistance a short while ago owns the stadium while the most well known Rugby League club in the country is nothing more than a tenant with no Stadium of its own like neighbours St Helens, Warrigton and Widnes.

Nearby Bolton Wanderers may have also gone into administration, but at least their club together with Bolton Council at the the time their stadium was built had the sense to make sure that the stadium was seperate from the financial affairs of the football club and any possible administration of the football club.

More brains in a rocking horse than what exists on Wigan Council where important decisions for the future are concerned!

What’s this faux outrage? I mean seriously? It’s a stand, we have a statue in the Town plus I’ve still always called it the East Stand! I think the faux outrage is a bit embarassing, petulant almost. You’ve got to remember we don’t own the stadium, if the owners wanted to paint a mural to Nathan Ellington across the South Stand they could do. Until we get our own stadium again we can’t sit here and moan.

What is utterly vile though are the comments from a [iminority[/i of Latics fans, including one on Twitter which won’t take long to find that literally says “I hope he doesn’t see Christmas” with reference to Billy Boston. Other than that it’s the usual nonsense from the Neanderthals. The sooner this false rivalry is settled and put away the better. It’s embarrassing.

Your bottom point is what will be driven by the thing you call meaningless at the top but it will be more from both sides and not what I’ve always felt, which is it being more of a hatred from a section of Latics fans towards the rugby, with some rugby fans deciding to throw some back.

I mean you can’t have it all ways. You call it faux outrage, say the quicker the false rivalry is put away the better but point out some of the rubbish that is flying around on social media. These new Latics owners will help drive more of that by these moves. I think you’re missing the point tbh. Forget the seat colours, the names of stands, the pictures up at the front of the stadium, it IMO is a purposeful move to win a popularity contest. They can paint the grass blue if they want but they don’t have to and that is the point.

Maybe it effects me differently with being somebody who wants to see the daft rivalry shelved for good but that won’t be happening anytime soon with these guys in charge.

I agree with this wholeheartedly.

I don't see that it's faux outrage. I don't even see that it's outrage.

It's more a case of weary resignation that ... here we go again, Latics feel like they're back on the up, and all of a sudden it's open season on the RL club and its supporters. And this time they're being encouraged by a new owner, who, from what I've heard, has next to zero affinity with this town. Does he have the first idea the division he's causing? I strongly doubt it. Would he care if he knew? Probably not.

As IL himself said, it's their stadium. They can do what they want with it and we can't complain. The decision that's doomed us to this situation was taken long ago by people who are no longer answerable.

But that doesn't make it any easier to bear. I honestly believe that it's high time Wigan started looking for a future away from the DW. As I say, I don't know if it's possible, but it must surely be something we starting thinking about seriously. We can't go through this period of uncertainty every time Latics get themselves in trouble.

I find it very strange that people can be so nonchalant about the stadium, but get worked up when the club makes a left field signing. We're talking 3-4 years of a bad player being "disastrous" for us, but yet having the Mickey taking out of us for 20+ years for a hole of a stadium isn't something to be bothered about.

Like you I'm bored of the latest Latics owner taking pops at the rugby, simply because it's the easiest way to gain favour with a section of their moronic fan base. As a side note, I've just got back from a trip into town and that moronic section is out and about. There's a noticeable police presence in the town + a group of Latics fans outside of the Moon heckling a kids steel drum band that's playing.

It’s a soccer stadium, so where’s the surprise? Wigan RL are just tenants.

I find it quite sad that the knuckledraggers have to create a rivalry with a completely different sport because all the local football clubs have long-established rivals and see the Latics as an irrelevance.

If any of them read this - please note that the position of rivals to Wigan Warriors is not currently available.