That is what I would expect to happen given the situation we are in and I am pretty certain there is a lot of untapped earnings potential from the fan base on its own.

It really doesn't matter if you own the stadium or not. What matters is your turnover and profit on that turnover.

In a Wembley final year (which is a big earner for any club who gets there and earns a club more than a GF appearance) Wire made £200K on a £6m turnover. We made £100K on £5.5m in the same season without the Wembley bonus so clearly this should show people owning a stadium is not the cash cow people seem to think it is.

Rouges, did IL mention the kind of figures getting to Wembley entails at the shareholders meeting? I'd be very interested to know and I am certain IL has said in the past what I say above about a Wembley appearance being worth a lot of money to a club.

If Wigan RL were to have it's own stadium in the town then it would be a second stadium.
The local council would not even consider a planning app let alone a governemnt appeals body.
Neither stadium would be profitable as they would both be competeing for the same corporate pound.
Having two separate stadiums in Wigan is an absolute non starter!

As for what the future holds with the DW, well that's another matter altogether.

I'm still hopeful that Whelan will follow through with his promise and give the stadium to ourselves, the Latics and Wigan council. All holding an equal share of the stadium. That seems the fairest and best option IMO.

The DW is a cracking stadium IMO.

Rather than thinking about building another one, IL should be looking to engineer a situation where Wigan RL are joint owners rather than tenants.

Having said that, and being serious for once, there is really no issue with renting providing it's on favourable terms, which it appears to be for you lot.

The DW is a cracking stadium, but it has to have at least 18k in it otherwise is just feels totally empty. A big stadium is great to have but when its less than half full it feels (and looks) awful.

But assuming planning permission is granted as required, those revenues could be very profitable. For example, Saints could apply for a performance licence and have gigs or other shows there on top of holding weddings, conferences, parties, etc and the ongoing use of the stadium cafe and shop. That's on top of any extra matches they may hold. While there is the matter of upkeep to consider that should be minimal for a good few years as it is a brand new facility. I think, though, what is really good about owning your own is the control you have over your own destiny. I think that's priceless because it allows all the above plus more (for instance, we can play extra matches at the stadium without seeking approval from our landlords or co-owners or whatever).

To be fair, unlike say the HJ, the new Saints stadium looks nice enough to hold events and gigs in. Could be a good moneyspinner for Saints and help offset the low ticket income due to the poor supporter base (sorry but I couldn't be positive without a dig to balance things up )

Wasn't their a caveat in the planning approval that distinctly prohibited concerts at the new stadium?
As for the extra matches, you do know that the play off games generate no revenue from ticket sales for the home clubs and that all the receipts are pooled and divied out as prize money dependent on the final placings after the play offs. So that would just be friendlies and the WCC. The WCC is Superleague/RFL event and as your new stadium (I don't think) has no undersoil heating I wouldn't imagine them taking the chance on playing that game there.

As you have stated the BIG advantage is non match day revenues from conferences etc, but I have heard a rumour that St. Helens Town FC may play their games there, but that won't generate much cash.

IMO the top 3 stadia in superleague are :-

!. The KC
2. The DW
3. The Galpharm

The DW loses out on the top spot because it isn't wrap-around.

BTW Size matters!

Warrington's ground had the non-concert planning condition.

It seems the most pertinent aspect people are missing in respect of owning your own ground, is the land it is sat on. That is the real asset.

Love us to own our own stadium, just for the bragging rights but realistically, building your own place is a huge financial burden at the moment. I know Warrington seem to be showing everyone the way but we all suspect there's some slight of hand involved somewhere. I reckon, as a club we are miles better being joint tenants at the DW and relatively secure financially, than investing in a new ground. I'd guess Saints have targeted and will need an average crowd of around 11,000 to break even. Just think if they have a couple of poor seasons. Unless the directors are prepared to dig deep you could see their new ground becoming a millstone. Having said that, wish we still had Central Park, albeit developed, with the Riverside club in full swing and that Latics were our tenants.

Imagine a developed central park with a brand new sweeping terrace to replace the pop side and the kop which runs round the corner like the old one did, but all brand new and modern. Then a new stand opposite the pop side with new facilities etc. That would have been a dream.

If I become a billionaire I will buy that land and make this happen for nothing in return!

I'd love for us to fill in the corners like they are doing at the HJ. Could increase the capacity by a few thousand and make the stadium look a whole lot better

I asked DW this at a party, and he told me the architects said it should be left open at the corners for ventilation of the pitch. Seems like someone bought that speil at the planning stages.

Fair enough. Shame though, it'd look nice if the corners were filled in