One thing that has come to the fore during covid is the use of the likes of Zoom and Teams, this will have a big effect on the conferencing industry and will probably become "the norm"

What about the £12m Tesco paid for Central Park? Which rather irritated Whelan.

but in that time its getting older, the infastructure will need upgarding, its a 20 year old structure, the concourses arent really fit for purpose anymore, spending all half time queing to get a coffee or a beer isnt really a 21st century experience. it needs new scoreboards, the seats and steps are getting worn, its not that accesible for a 21st century ground but generally iits been a bit neglected and needs bringing upto date, its all expense, and with a bill of £6m before you start it takes some finding. it would be lovely to own it, from a prestige point of view as its one of the better ground in the league. But with wigans location its not goig to draw the conferences etc that headingly would in a city centre with a cricket ground attached. it would be interesting to see the accouts for saints and how much in reality comes in from the ground.

In reality the DW its too big, its nice to have the capacity, but we didnt sell it out for a world club match, so investing in a stadium that needs work and is too big is a financial gamble, and in the current climate not a very apealing one. if it was bought for next to nothing from liquidators thats another issue, but at the pric quoted it doesnt make sense,

the other issue and its a large one, is will the fans return in the numbers they did? attending the match is a habit, and once your out of that habit you quickly fill the time with other hobbies etc. i hope that fans return in huge numbers but i have my doubts, the sport itself as at a crossroads, some clubs may not survive unless fans can be at matches soon.

All in all i can see why the deal we have is suddenly looking very appealing to the club.

that went to the club, to cover the debts of the whitbread stand and some strange decisions in the early nineties that was then bought by whelan, so in a round about way helped pay for the stadium

the warrington deal was different they were given the stadium rather than cash, as the council wrote it into the planning consent which with hinsight was a deal we should have pursued, there was talk at the time of a ground at marus bridge by wheatlea park, but that never materialised

That paid the debts. We didn't pay a single penny for the stadium but then again neither did Latics.

The stadium was signed off and work was underway before we even knew where we were playing

Indeed the deals were not the same, but nevertheless neither would have happened without Tesco funding.

Did I say anything about using more the Council giving any more Council Tax in addition to the £4.9 million they owned in the Stadium. As for budget cuts, not all is to do with Central Government as some are led to believe as some of the shortfall is due to the money wasted by Councils on things like the shambles on the Saddle and Marus Bridge Junctions. Many Labour controlled Councils do a good job in providing new and better facilities and new roads as illustrated in other nearby towns.

If things are so bad as a result of budget cutbacks in the Wigan Council area, why not sell the 14% share of the Council in the Stadium,.

Noticed that you have said nothing about my comments about the financial rewards of Councillors which also come out of Council Taxpayers money which might give away the reason why!

p.s. Councils no longer run Care Homes etc for the disabled as they are now francised out to the private sector of private landlords and care companies who operate on low pay and zero hour contracts which Labour Councils support!

Whelan's contribution to the building of the Stadium was only around 20% out of the cost of £35 million pounds with the other 80% coming from grants and a 14% (£4.9 million) share by Wigan Council.

As for the Tesco money of £12.5 million, around £6.5 million went to pay of the debts of the club and out of the rest, John Martin who owned the Riverside Club got £275,000 in compensation for loss of the club.

The rest is history!

Of course they will want the Warriors to still play at the Stadium because without the rugby, it is a white elephant with just a small football club like the Latics playing there.

The questions that need to be asked to the new owners are do they intend to upgrade the Stadium, increase the rent, change the name and perhaps like Whelan sell it on for a profit?

Oh, and what owner of a football club puts a statue of himself holding a trophy outside a Stadium?

One with a massive ego.

Its a bloody eyesore. Hopefully these Spaniards will have a more aesthetic eye for design and architecture and shift it.

How is it an eyesore? It's quite a good likeness and is better than some you see. The KFC one at Saints for one.

They should probably have waited until he died, but there you go.

I can't see the new owners moving it as it won't out them in a good light with the Latics fans. Maybe they will build a Wigan RL one though.

I wonder who we would have. Obviously we already have the Billy Boston one near the Bull which I like to go and look at. The quotes on there are brilliant.

They could just move that one I guess

The Billy Boston one was funded by donations from businesses and the general public.

The Dave Whelan one was funded by Dave Whelan.

Get a 50ft one of Maurice and watch the tics cry about that.

That doesn't make it an eyesore, but it might explain why his looks like him and Boston's doesn't.

I'm rarely at that side of the stadium anyway so it doesn't bother me.

Statues outside Stadiums should be about famous players like the the statues of Nat Lofthouse at Bolton, Bobby Moore and the Rugby League players at Wembley, Brian Bevan at Warrington and managers like the statue of Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest, not a owner of a football club on a ego trip of promoting himself and whose only claim to fame in football was getting a broken leg in a FA Cup Final and sitting in the directors box with a smug look on his face at televised football games.

The only thing Whelan achieved at the Latic's was to put money into his own personal fortune when he sold the club because he could see that it was heading towards financial difficulties.

https://london-post.co.uk/wigan-athleti ... n-control/ Quote The Wigan Athletic story is about to take another turn for the worst as the secret Spanish takeover faces a backlash from fans and the EFL. The clubs short lived Spanish takeover celebrations have come premature. Begbies Traynor partner Paul Stanley said: “As we stated on September 30, the preferred bidder has made it plain that they do not wish for their details to be made public until such time as the sale is completed and we are respecting this anonymity. No further details will be released until EFL approval has been obtained.” Whilst the administrators Begbies Traynor have reported the bidder wants to stay anonymous. It has been confirmed the Spanish bid was led by José Miguel Garrido Cristo. A source close to the deal claims papers were submitted to the EFL on Friday contrary to claims by Sun reporter Alan Nixon the EFL are yet to receive the documentation. For fans wanting to know more about the future gatekeeper of the Latics. Garrido Cristo has previously led two Spanish clubs, Albacete and Castellón but was investigated for tax evasion and money laundering in 2016. It is believed that he has been in the North West of England after his company COSTA ESTE LONDON LIMITED was liquidated by Horsfields Insolvency Practitioners who are based in Bury, Manchester. Sources understand Garrido Cristo is to be connected to Manchester based IPS law firm owner Chris Farnell. Former Wigan Athletic director Farnell (who was involved in the club in 2013) was also previously involved in the liquidation of Northern English club, Bury, and has a string of associations with other clubs including Charlton Athletic, who have suffered huge mismanagement. Chris Farnell is said to be advised to go for the Latics by his long term client football manager Roberto Martinez. It is not clear what involvement Martinez wants to have with the League One club as he is currently the Belgium national team coach. His alleged attempt to dupe the EFL was a tactic once tried by before, when a neighbour and friend of Farnell, Manchester business man Paul Elliot, was thought to be a convenient stooge for the sale of Charlton Athletic. The plan failed. Sources say Farnell knows how to navigate the EFL rules and bringing in a Spanish front is all part of his master plan to be the clubs supremo. Whilst the EFL puts procedures in place to protect itself from sports criminals and protect the interests of football clubs. Helpless football fans will eagerly await to see if Farnell’s attempt to get his hands on the club will be successful as it could bring a whole host of unwanted unscrupulous vultures due to the failing FPP protecting our football institutes .'" More fun and games?

https://london-post.co.uk/wigan-athleti ... n-control/ Quote The Wigan Athletic story is about to take another turn for the worst as the secret Spanish takeover faces a backlash from fans and the EFL. The clubs short lived Spanish takeover celebrations have come premature. Begbies Traynor partner Paul Stanley said: “As we stated on September 30, the preferred bidder has made it plain that they do not wish for their details to be made public until such time as the sale is completed and we are respecting this anonymity. No further details will be released until EFL approval has been obtained.” Whilst the administrators Begbies Traynor have reported the bidder wants to stay anonymous. It has been confirmed the Spanish bid was led by José Miguel Garrido Cristo. A source close to the deal claims papers were submitted to the EFL on Friday contrary to claims by Sun reporter Alan Nixon the EFL are yet to receive the documentation. For fans wanting to know more about the future gatekeeper of the Latics. Garrido Cristo has previously led two Spanish clubs, Albacete and Castellón but was investigated for tax evasion and money laundering in 2016. It is believed that he has been in the North West of England after his company COSTA ESTE LONDON LIMITED was liquidated by Horsfields Insolvency Practitioners who are based in Bury, Manchester. Sources understand Garrido Cristo is to be connected to Manchester based IPS law firm owner Chris Farnell. Former Wigan Athletic director Farnell (who was involved in the club in 2013) was also previously involved in the liquidation of Northern English club, Bury, and has a string of associations with other clubs including Charlton Athletic, who have suffered huge mismanagement. Chris Farnell is said to be advised to go for the Latics by his long term client football manager Roberto Martinez. It is not clear what involvement Martinez wants to have with the League One club as he is currently the Belgium national team coach. His alleged attempt to dupe the EFL was a tactic once tried by before, when a neighbour and friend of Farnell, Manchester business man Paul Elliot, was thought to be a convenient stooge for the sale of Charlton Athletic. The plan failed. Sources say Farnell knows how to navigate the EFL rules and bringing in a Spanish front is all part of his master plan to be the clubs supremo. Whilst the EFL puts procedures in place to protect itself from sports criminals and protect the interests of football clubs. Helpless football fans will eagerly await to see if Farnell’s attempt to get his hands on the club will be successful as it could bring a whole host of unwanted unscrupulous vultures due to the failing FPP protecting our football institutes .'" More fun and games?

It’s meant to be a load of rubbish so I believe.

Hope so.

If true, the expression ' Out of the frying pan into the fire' would appear to apply to the sale.

It’ll end in tears this move..

The administration situation at the Latics was a great opportunity for the Stadium to be sold as a separate entity like the Stadiums are in Huddersfield, Hull, Leigh, Salford etc with all who use the facilities paying a rent to a independent company.

It has become obvious that the reason why the situation has dragged on for so long is because the company appointed as administrators have never has only been interested in selling the Stadium as part of Wigan Athletic.

It comes as no surprise that Wigan Council did nothing to secure the Stadium under the control of a independent company when the leader of the Council is a life long Latic's supporter.

I would still hate the stadium whether we owned it or not. 21yrs later and I still can’t take to the place. It’s soulless and depressing but alas we are stuck with it.

Soulless exactly what I think about it, never feels like home