Cruncher wrote:
I can't think who would be interested.
The stadium is known to lose money and needs some upgrading, so that's big expenditure right from the off. There is supposedly a covenant on the land so that it can't be used for anything other than rugby or football, which presumably means the DW can't be knocked down and built on. Without two full-time tenants, it's not really viable and the only two tenants in sight are Wigan and Latics, and the likely new owners of Latics already look like a bunch of cheapskates who won't agree to any kind of decent-sized rent.
It's hardly an attractive proposition for a neutral businessman.
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The more I think about this, the more it’s turning into a very complex situation. The ground is simply too big to host both rugby league and football in their separate entities and possibly still too big even if both codes were to share it.
If IL (and consortium) were to purchase it, how much rent could we feasibly charge the Latics, given that they are likely to be relegated again at the end of this season? The current Covid problem remains and it will be some time before both clubs are generating any sort of the income that they have been used to. Latics’ income will be going in the wrong direction for the foreseeable. Our own income will be well down and then there are considerable amounts of money that need to be spent on the stadium to bring it up to scratch.
If any potential buyers for the football club come in, they will need deep pockets as per the reasons above. Even with the Warriors providing rental income (assuming that that rent remains at its current level), how can anyone turn in a profit when, from the football side of things, the Latics will likely be playing in front of 4-6k, rattling around in a 25k stadium?
Additionally, where does that leave us with Robin Park and the money that we have invested in that facility so far? Money down the drain? If we do buy the DW, surely then there will be a duplication of all sorts, office space, bars training areas and so on? could we afford to run both?
If I were running the show, I would be looking to move to a new stadium, especially now that Mike Danson is on board. One for the rugby only. Something along the lines of Langtree Park/Halliwell Jones with a capacity of around 18k. It’s a big ask but if St Helens and Warrington can do it, why couldn’t we? Building costs say anything between £35-45m less what we could attract in grants and subsidies etc. Have the ‘new Warriors’ team of Lenagan and Danson the ability/desire to do this. I bet they have considered it.
One thing for sure is that the DW is a big white elephant in the town. Too big for the Rugby, too big for the football and probably too big for both combined.
