10000/15000 people visiting and spending money in the local pubs, bars, restaurants, shops, hotels etc who would not otherwise be there. Councils are not going to pay mega money, but it's worth something to the local area.


Not an issue at Wigan, Huddersfield, Hull, Elland Road, Reading. Your only talking one game.

10K - 15K people ! If we finish in the top 4 and get 4 "home" games one of which will be in London ( QPR, Brentford, Fulham for example ) and could be a Thursday night , thanks Sky, there is no chance of that crowd, even a Friday night or a Saturday. crazy idea.

Lets not pretend Wigan's 'on the road' games are there to develop the sport or even Wigan the club. It's because they know there will be dates where their rental property won't be available to them. Times like when Wigan FC have a home game against Shorpe or Fleetwood, or a wedding or even a bar mitzvah. It would be embarrassing for the rugby club to come out and admit they've been told to play somewhere else, so make up an excuse about developing the game and they will probably qualify for some extra funding or cap exemptions on the back of it as well.

Is it time Wigan RLFC got a ground of their own? Could they not develop their training ground into one?

you really do talk $h1te

He does but on this occasion I wouldn't be surprised if there's more than an element of truth to the suspicion that this has as much to do with avoiding playing at Leigh as it does spreading the word.

Will be interesting to see whether Latics are at home on the weekend of this "expansion" game. . . . . .

Seeing Wigan knocked out of the CC partly because they had to give up home ground advantage was funny as. I'm sure their fans are overjoyed at the prospect of them playing at the other end of the country.

Looks like the " tics " only have 2 Saturday home games during the super 8 " season " 15th Aug v Doncaster and 19th September v The Cod Army , sold out signs not expected, as Sky are doing Thurs and Fri nights for this round of matches I don't think football will be the problem, the grass needing to grow might be ! but as ever with our sport it is as clear as mud, nobody yet knows who and when they will be playing for any of the fixtures we will have to wait for Sky TV to decide as they run the whole lot.
Which makes it even more of a joke in our case.

Wasn't the issue that rugby couldn't be played 24 hours before football, meaning they couldn't play on the Friday?

Can't remember if this was a Premier League rule or a DW stadium rule (or both).

Think I am right in saying it was never a Premier League rule, as for DW stadium the income streams will be somewhat different to the " Premier League " days so we might find a bit more common ground ! hopefully but the CC fiasco didn't help matters .

It isn't and never has been a Premier a League rule. As for on the road games, this idea may work for Wigan who have a famous 'brand name' but for the rest opportunities are limited. Saints may get some success playing in Liverpool, and Catalan have had success playing on the road elsewhere in Catalonia, but for the rest of teams either they don't get big crowds at home anyway, or for the Hull clubs, are geographically out on a limb so there isn't a nearby town/city to target.

Leeds in Newcastle is a possibility and Kingston Park would be of a reasonably-sized ground. Better yet, the Newcastle/Gateshead club is starting to pick up following years in the doldrums. Double-header?

Double-headers with championship1 games could work and be good exposure for some of the new clubs. Something like, Leeds play in Newcastle, Wigan in Coventry, Warrington in Wrexham and Hull in York.

That's a valid point. There's nothing stopping Sky changing Wigan's on the road game to a Thursday or Friday at short notice. Hopefully they don't, because that would be a disaster all round.

You really are one sad person.

Wigan FC play Rugby, the soccer club is Wigan Athletic AFC.

Well, it's hard for that proud historical distinction to remain in public consciousness when you're now called Wigan Warriors.