Wonder what the business model is with these. Do Wigan receive a flat fee from SJM concerts for use of the facility with SJM receiving ticket sales? Or would Wigan receive a percentage of ticket sales themselves?

It would be interesting to know. Whatever the set up is, you’d imagine it’ll be a money spinner. This is a smaller scale but I remember Lancashire turning themselves around from struggling financially, to making big profits on the back of them starting to host concerts. We’ve been making losses these last few years and even if we can just get back towards sustainability, that would be fantastic.

Noel Gallagher and The Lathums I believe to be announced shortly

Noel Gallager 18th July
The Lathums 19th July

Onwards and Upwards !!!!

Yeah good news.
Might take my grandson to Lathums.

Great to have a few gigs announced. Wonder what the scope would be on getting a Haigh festesc festival at Robin Park

11500

More issues on the blue side of town. United fans have been given the East Stand for the upcoming FA Cup match which has enraged a lot of Latics fans on social media.

It'll just be the vocal minority that are still miffed that a "thugby mon" has control of the club.
It's a bit like when our HKR play-off tickets went straight on general sale, loads of moaning about not being able to get their own seat when everyone new the ground would be half empty.
Wiganers are tight as cramp, fact, there's no way on god's earth that 20k are going to turn up on a Monday night for a ridiculous 8.15 kick-off time, might as well try and get as much out of Utd fans as they can.
MD isn't going to run either club like DW did with Latics and supporters are just going to have to get used to that.

I knew this was coming from the loud minority. A guy has come in and saved the club from oblivion and wants to try and get it towards self sustainability. As I pointed out to a couple of fellow Latics fans on social media yesterday, who claimed the Monday night game against Man City in 2018 sold out, it did not, there was 19,200 on, including a full away end. I would say the crowds have gone down slightly from then, so there is no reason to believe more than the 14,000 or so home fans that turned out that night, will turn out for this.

The crowd should now get up towards 22-23k IMO and maybe even sell out (United are a bigger draw) and that will bring in a lot of extra revenue, that is much needed. The loud minority moan that they’ll have to move seats, well surely just having a seat to move to and a team to watch should be enough?! Talk about ungrateful!!

It’s disrespectful to not inform the fans that this was happening. The club hierarchy have been shamed into making a statement off the back of people kicking off over it on social media. I’m grateful to have a football club to support as well as the rugby and I’m pretty sure if it had been handled more sensitively then I wouldn’t be as annoyed as I am now.

It's absolutely lovely watching them cry.

They've literally got a billionaire owner, who saved them from oblivion, but are crying because the clubs now making sound commercial decisions. Go figure that one out. Apparently the fan group said they should be consulted? Why? So they can be told it's happening face to face?

The bitterness doesn't have any limits either, there's even some tools crying on Twitter because we've got an Xmas tree and they haven't.

I don’t really get it mate but I’m not that attached to a seat I guess. It’s unreserved in the South for the rugby and I just sit wherever I buy a ticket when I go to Latics games. It’s kind of ironic that every time I go and watch Latics away from home some bug*er is sat in my seat

Never known a fan base as bad with allocated seating.

I’ll be honest, I think there’s a feeling growing with some Latics fans that Danson has bought them as a safety net for the rugby and this hasn’t helped that but the blokes a billionaire, not an idiot. He wants both clubs to be as self sustainable as possible. The PR with this is something they’ll hopefully learn from going forward but I can forgive them, certainly far more than I could forgive that moron Talal and his promises of blue seats.

Im sure the 14 fans from the East stand can be easily moved to the West for the Utd tie

Just a set of deluded moaners. They seem to forget that 1) Latics still aren’t out of the crap 2) Danson saved them from almost not being a club. I’m pretty sure if it was the rugby and Dansons investment wasn’t 100% secure he’d do similar to us. In their run of owners this is a drop in the ocean compared to what others have done. Even the almighty Wheelan basically didn’t care once they were going down and was happy to sell all the best players off leaving Latics in the crap.

The thing with Latics is that it’s a loss making business but unlike the rugby, there is no salary cap to have kept the losses in check and the rugby now seem to be opening up other income streams that the football club cannot. Latics have a couple of players earning salaries 3 times that of the highest player in the rugby clubs squad and they can’t wait to get them off the books. The crowds have also dropped, so I cannot blame the powers that be wanting to maximise the income they can bring in from this game.

I saw some sums where Latics fans were saying this move will ‘only bring in an extra 100k’ and that sort of sums up where football has gone, thar numbers like that can be seen as chicken feed. If the club gets its wage bill down to a realistic level for league one, that is a players salary for the season.

To make themselves feel better, they are now saying that St Helens should be given the Boston Stand for rugby fixtures as they always sell out the North Stand and could easily fill it.

Ungrateful, entitled sh**s. The only way that ground will be full is if the whole home support fits in the Boston stand and Man Utd sell out the other three stands. Ive suggested that they should take Bolton's place at Luton and let Bolton host Man Utd and sell out their stadium. Needless to say it didnt go down well.

Wigan RL fill the Boston stand for St Helens games

Thats one fixture that is never far of capacity.

I think the game will be full against United but even in this town they have to accept that most people don’t support Wigan athletic they support bigger teams; Liverpool, United, City. As probably most towns across the country do.
If Joe from the East stand boycotts the game because his seat been taken; oh well, some other chap who has come to see United will come along. That’s what they have to remember; you’ve come to see United not Latics

the Latics fans have very short memories, in fact i bet most werent even fans when the East stand was always for away supporters (prior to the promotion to the PL)

The old guard running the club knew that most clubs in the championship bring good followings and would almost fill the East, so financially it makes sense to have an extra 2k away supporters in that not

in regards to rugby, i've said previously that some cup games shouldnt have had the East open, just West and South as 7k across 3 stands looks bloody awful. At least get the fans there closer together so it can generate a bit of an atmosphere

They need fans in the East as the TV cameras are opposite. They need to fill the West with the hospitality boxes so if they shut two stands it would make more sense to close the North and South.

it would depend on the game being on TV or not

but the logic still remains, if we have a home cup tie, and the attendance is only forecast at 7k, then only open 2 stands

Wow. Three times more than, say, Field or French? Well that just says it all, really, doesn't it?

I'm sure Charlie Wyke signed for at least £10k a week in 2021, which probably got increased with promotion. He barely plays, as does Magennis, who is reported to be on even more than Wyke. £25k a week (or £1m a year) for two players to sit on their backsides and rarely feature - no wonder they keep going bust.

I feel sorry for Latics fans as soon as they got a bit of power with Whelan,the town was turning blue (It didnt),we own the stadium and will control what happens (they did to a certain extent),now one banner was took down and replaced by a mainly Rugby one,academy played on the pitch,Robin park is a success with the concerts and fan days etc.Rugby side of town is flying but the football is floundering and needed a Rugby guy to save them oh how I enjoyed that.
Latics fans cannot cope with the Rugby's success,to be fair Latics are a very very good pub side.