del capo Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 It seems that Wigan Athletic are in total meltdown. The EFL have just deducted 3 points for the players not ( again ) being paid and the club will now certainly be relegated. Next year they face another 12 point deduction and further administration is distinctly possible. The owner says he needs to sell assets to meet outgoings but the only one left to the club is the stadium itself. Latics fan forums fear another move by the Warriors but whatever else security for our sport is definitely needed. Yet another due diligence issue for the FA. Is the Stadium a white elephant or an opportunity ? Whatever else it demonstrates the absolute need for year round multi purpose usage to make things work in so many of our outlets ( Oldham , Salford. Rochdale even on this side of the hill). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whippet13 Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 (edited) IIRC Lenagan made an offer for the ground last time round when the administration stretched on for ages. The administrator seemed to be focused on keeping his fees rolling in and only working with who had the most money, rather than who would be the best long term owner of both the football club and stadium. Probably a good chance Lenagan will be interested again and he has a very wealthy business partner involved on the rugby side who is also a soccer fan I think. Whether it would be a millstone or an opportunity depends on the price, it's in decent condition but maintenance costs will likely be high as I doubt it was built with EPC ratings in mind c25 years ago and that pitch still has to be dug up annually. Edited March 21, 2023 by Whippet13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DACS Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 Does the pitch have to be dug up every year because of the use by rugby and football teams? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeon Lofter Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 Didn't the Bahraini owner of the soccer club/stadium pay just £3m to take over from the Administrators a couple of years ago? Seems a small price to pay if that includes the DW. Are Wigan Athletic a financial basket case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henson Park Old Firm Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 Wigan need new seats 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Future is League Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 How much would Wigan RLFC have to pay to be majority share holder of the D W Stadium? Is Ian Lenagan or Wigan RLFC a shareholder in the D W Stadium? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnM Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 1 hour ago, Henson Park Old Firm said: Wigan need new seats Agreed. They also should carry large numbers to make it easier for forum statisticians to count the empty ones. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnM Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 (edited) https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/football/chairman-talal-breaks-silence-on-wigan-athletic-financial-situation-4060634 https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/breaking-championship-crisis-club-wigan-29507058 Edited March 21, 2023 by JohnM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 Of course it's an opportunity and that is why Wigan Rugby tried to buy it when Wigan Athletic were in administration. When the new owners of Wigan Athletic took over they put up the rent to Wigan Rugby considerably and it now makes even more sense for Wigan Rugby to take over the stadium. Lenegan shouldn't let this opportunity pass and should try to buy the stadium now before any possible administration down the line (and perhaps another administrator that doesn'twant to seperate it from Wigan Athletic). 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate90 Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 (edited) This is the perfect opportunity for Wigan Rugby to buy the stadium. What would the pro's and cons be for the club?. Edited March 21, 2023 by Nate90 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 34 minutes ago, Nate90 said: This is the perfect opportunity for Wigan Rugby to buy the stadium. What would the pro's and cons be for the club?. The enormous purchase and running costs would be a big con. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiganBooney Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 8 hours ago, DACS said: Does the pitch have to be dug up every year because of the use by rugby and football teams? The issue with the pitch is that the ground was built on poor quality land and there are also drainage issues, it is a very thin layer mix of grass and synthetic. Unfortunately it causes big issues with Warriors fixtures and they lose the rhythm of home/away fixtures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phiggins Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 8 hours ago, Pigeon Lofter said: Didn't the Bahraini owner of the soccer club/stadium pay just £3m to take over from the Administrators a couple of years ago? Seems a small price to pay if that includes the DW. Are Wigan Athletic a financial basket case? That was the price to take the club out of administration. Fairly certain the price was dictated by amount of debt the admins would have to clear, rather than market value. Overall, I imagine the first assets that the football club will be looking to sell will be players. Not convinced the DW would be a great purchase anyway. It seems to lose out to Bolton's ground when it comes to bigger events (internationals, concerts etc...) probably due to the location, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 20 minutes ago, Eddie said: The enormous purchase and running costs would be a big con. The purchase wouldn't be enormous and you've alluded to one of the reasons why with your comment about running costs. Its a big ground but its only worth anything if it has tenants doing well and can host events. If Wigan Athletic are struggling that severely limits its earning potential. Ian Lenegan bid £3.5 million the last time and that was based on the valuation of the stadium. This was actually more than the current owners of Wigan Athletic paid for both the club and stadium. I have always maintained that there are a lot of smoke and mirrors regarding the stadium and its profits or supposed losses. If it was such a loss making enterprise then successive owners and administrators wouldn't have fought tooth and nail to keep it in Wigan Athletics ownership. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 31 minutes ago, Damien said: The purchase wouldn't be enormous and you've alluded to one of the reasons why with your comment about running costs. Its a big ground but its only worth anything if it has tenants doing well and can host events. If Wigan Athletic are struggling that severely limits its earning potential. Ian Lenegan bid £3.5 million the last time and that was based on the valuation of the stadium. This was actually more than the current owners of Wigan Athletic paid for both the club and stadium. I have always maintained that there are a lot of smoke and mirrors regarding the stadium and its profits or supposed losses. If it was such a loss making enterprise then successive owners and administrators wouldn't have fought tooth and nail to keep it in Wigan Athletics ownership. The land alone must be worth a fair bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 9 minutes ago, Eddie said: The land alone must be worth a fair bit? Not really as it can't be used for anything else. The council own the land and the stadium company lease the land. There are also covenants on the land that state it has to be used for Rugby and Football. This is all by design to stop any asset stripping by developers. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate90 Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 1 hour ago, phiggins said: That was the price to take the club out of administration. Fairly certain the price was dictated by amount of debt the admins would have to clear, rather than market value. Overall, I imagine the first assets that the football club will be looking to sell will be players. Not convinced the DW would be a great purchase anyway. It seems to lose out to Bolton's ground when it comes to bigger events (internationals, concerts etc...) probably due to the location, I don't think the DW has ever had the correct safety licence for concerts which is a shame. Richard Ashcroft wanted to play a hometown solo show once but he couldn't for that reason. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 Wigan Buy it and stick terracing in at one end 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeordieSaint Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 Genuinely hope Wigan can buy the stadium. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 29 minutes ago, Damien said: Not really as it can't be used for anything else. The council own the land and the stadium company lease the land. There are also covenants on the land that state it has to be used for Rugby and Football. This is all by design to stop any asset stripping by developers. Ah fair enough in that case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 5 minutes ago, Tommygilf said: Wigan Buy it and stick terracing in at one end That would be excellent, both ends in fact. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 19 minutes ago, Nate90 said: I don't think the DW has ever had the correct safety licence for concerts which is a shame. Richard Ashcroft wanted to play a hometown solo show once but he couldn't for that reason. Rick Astley would sell the place out. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idrewthehaggis Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 At £3.5m, it seems a snipe. Whilst you wouldn't seemingly advocate adding to the Pies' apparent £9m "debt" (Leneghan loans), buying the DW makes sense for Wigan. Indeed it would make sense if the RFL acquired it. A wee little cash cow if managed right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREPOSTEROUS Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 It cost £3.2m for BV as it was. If thats the figure then Wigan should snap the hands off. I read their rent was particularly high (£500k+?). If that's the case then it's a no brained. Within 7 years on that rate the cost of the stadium is covered. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my missus Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 I think the pitch issues are now mostly sorted out although we still have three away games in June, a lot of money has been invested in robin park which the fans have really taken to. I would rather have robin park upgraded to a 15000 seater than waste money on the DW. Through the fish-eyed lens of tear stained eyes I can barely define the shape of this moment in time(roger waters) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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