I do think that the Fan Village concept is something that the club could consult with supporters on, unless they already did this?

It’s clear that whilst some people think the fan village is great, it’s not accessible for everyone…just imagine if you were in a wheelchair (the club now has a PDRL team so that would be a good start).

Pretty sure the club consulted a panel about the logo change so why not this?

They have done this and do it on a weekly basis. KR and/or IL walk around talking to fans and they make changes week on week also with more bars, more tables etc.

It's a work in progress. They'll get there.

I think that’s what we all need to acknowledge, it’s a work in progress and as long as the feedback is taken on board and changes made, it’s happy days. We have the debate about a new stadium time and again on here but that’s a pipe dream. What I would like to think isn’t a pipe dream is some investment in to the facilities around the fan village. That is something that can pay for itself. Having it mainly based in the players training facilities isn’t ideal IMO and they need to try and utilise the outdoor space more but at the same time shield people from the elements when needed. If they grow the food and drink options over time then they can bring some good income in.

For me I want the the club to maximise it's revenue streams whilst giving fans something different. Having a burger isn't different and I'm unsure how much the club will earn from this type of sale if the burger vans are 3rd party traders.
IL/SF need to be talking to and if required paying hospitality experts. No disrespect but most fans, myself included, have little or no knowledge on hospitality particularly where it will need to cover dispersed internal and external areas. I had one drink there last Friday outside near to the running track. I got there late and it was quite quiet but I still had to wait for my pint as there was one area with one tap serving lager. Ideally I'd like to get to the ground at least an hour before kick off but if I have to queue for long periods to get served I'm more inclined to go/stay in the pub.

My grandson loves it primarily due to meeting and have photos with players. This is great but I'm sure after a while the appeal will decline.

As I've said previously the concept is first class but if this is to be a long term success the club may have to invest and take a few risks accepting that some new ideas will fail but when the club do get it right the financial benefits could be significant.
We need activities to keep the kids happy whilst serving up drinks/food/music that will ensure that adults keep wanting to go back for every home game.
Kingfisher appear to be the beer sponsor so I'm not sure how feasible it would be to get say Real Crafty or the owners of The Central involved on match days even if its for a limited number of games.

It's early days and I'd like to think that the club can build on what seems to be a very popular concept with a lot of regular fans.
A great pity we couldn't have bought Sharpies(?) as this would have been perfect.

The problem with Sharpies is making money the other 350 days of the year.

They had xbox games in there for the kids a few weeks ago but not sure if they are a regular thing or not.

Excellent post & already there have been some good suggestions/ideas within the thread.

Look forward to seeing the fan village go from strength to strength in the future.

Went into the fanzone again pre and post match. Very busy inside and a good number of people outside on the running track as it was a pleasant evening.

Once noticeable difference I saw was the running of the bar, in games prior the bar was run by a third party company.
For the Wire game both bars were ran by Wigan staff (at least one of them was a player from the ladies team). Great to see as hopefully all takings and profits go directly to the club.

With regards to the food we had Ben Westwood's burger van outside. So plenty to work on from that respect. I believe it is work in progress and will only get bigger and better for the remainder of this season and into next but it must be having a positive £££ going into the club which is great.

They also housed the past players in the kingfisher lounge. I believe this is also an option going forward for corporate hospitality.

Yes saw this. I do believe it's an option which was openly discussed on the fan survey and is an absolute no brainer.

More £££.

It's certainly a preferable option to pumping our cash into the stadium.

I see the South Stand had plenty of empty seats despite us being told they'd stopped selling tickets for it on the Wednesday.

My question, therefore, is ... had those empty seats already been sold to season ticket holders who were on holiday, which I admit is a distinct possibility, or were the stadium authorities just being dicks?

If the rental agreement is the same as the last one then that makes literally no sense as they would be shooting themselves in the foot.

The exact same people were running the bar as the last 3 times I've been in.
Always been the same Wigan staff running it not 3rd party.

isnt there a law where 10% of capacity cant be sold as its unreserved seating?

yes

Out of interest (and conscious some posters support the football team) what do Latics do pre-match?

I had been told they have access to the bar area over at the leisure centre but not sure if this is still the case?