Wigan sporting company | Page 7 | Vital Football

Wigan sporting company

jeffs right said:
I did airbrush the history pal. I missed the bit about the success that lot had with money they didn't have forcing the sale of Central Park to pay off debts before Whelan's act of kindness bailed them out.
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And that is different to what he did for Latics how?

Also sound very similar to what Danson is doing now but in reverse and with a hell of a lot more jeopardy.
 
Third Avenue said:
The Sale of Central Park



The introduction and move to summer rugby in 1996 saw Wigan become emerged in financial difficulty. They had built up debts of £3 million and the club’s board members decided the answer to the financial problems was to sell Central Park.



Local Businessman Dave Whelan, owner of Wigan Athletic Football Club, wanted to buy Central Park and have Latics share the ground with the Warriors. He offered £4.5m for the ground and pledged to spend a further £12.5m to turn it into a 20,000 all seater stadium for both clubs. Shareholders had voted for the idea but the Wigan board had another offer to consider from the Tesco Supermarket chain, which was rumoured to be closer to £10 million. If the Tesco offer was accepted, Wigan would be homeless. The idea was that Wigan would share with Bolton Wanderers’ new Reebok Stadium, which at the time was being built.



Central Park was the historic home of Wigan Rugby League and the fans were outraged at the suggestion of Wigan moving four miles out of town to Bolton’s Reebok Stadium.



In late February 1997 news emerged that Wigan were holding talks with Bolton about a ground share. Dave Whelan responded to the news by offering to virtually wipe out the club’s debts within 48 hours. In early March Tesco increased their offer to buy Central Park to £12.5 million and news broke that the ground sale was to “go-ahead”. Fans held a protest outside Central Park ahead of a pre-season friendly against Castleford whilst other fans chose to boycott the game. Some fans even travelled down to Tesco Headquarters and protested there! The Wigan fans simply did not want the club to move to Bolton, even if it was for a temporary period. They could not believe the board could sell the ground without a permanent new home being in place.



The Wigan board was made up of four people, Jack Robinson, Arthur Thomas, Tom Rathbone and Melvyn Leatherbarrow (aka John Martin). They had a vote over Whelan’s offer and Martin, who ran the Riverside Club at Central Park, was the only member of the board who voted for it. The other three voted against as they were holding out for an increased offer from Tesco and thus seeing us move out of the town to Bolton. Following the vote Martin resigned has he had become frustrated by the board’s apparent lack of urgency to agree the Whelan plan despite shareholders voting in favour of the move.



As the month wore on over 200 disgruntled shareholders met to discuss the controversial decision to sell Central Park to Tesco. They also backed a petition calling for the removal of chairman Jack Robinson and Mick Rathbone from the board immediately.



Into May 1997 and shareholders had decided they wanted to oust Jack Robinson as chairman. A shareholder’s action group claimed the board sold Central Park to Tesco without consultation after previously agreeing to accept a rescue package from millionaire Dave Whelan. Former player Phil Clarke was offered to the shareholders as the man to lead the ousting bid. The group’s next move will be a circular to the club’s 1500 shareholders seeking support for their attempt to remove Mr Robinson and his vice-chairman Tom Rathbone at an Emergency General Meeting on May 20.



A week before the shareholder’s EGM, Wigan unveiled details of a proposed new super stadium. But critics of the board feared that if the team moved out of town to Bolton Wanderers’ new stadium at Horwich they will never return to Wigan. Robinson had met the shareholders’ action group that week but their spokesman Ernie Benbow said at the time that “he was unable to give any categorical assurances about a site in Wigan.”



At the same time Dave Whelan unveiled plans to build a new 25,000 seater stadium for Wigan Athletic at Robin Park but he refused to open ground share negotiations with the Wigan board after the collapse of his Central Park rescue package earlier this year.



On 20th May Wigan shareholders held the EGM and Jack Robinson survived, for now. Robinson won a vote of confidence 484 to 400 while fellow board member, Rathbone held on by 489 to 407. So, Robinson was still chairman but Wigan was still homeless. The wrangling was far from over.



June 1997 saw the Wigan team embark on month long trip down under for the World Club Challenge. The trip had quietened the ground move saga but as they returned Jack Robinson faced a new vote of confidence from the shareholders. A newspaper reported that an associate gathered proxy votes for the original EGM in May by fraudulent methods. The paper claimed someone was instructed to fill in forms for shareholders who were believed to have died so they could be used as votes in favour of the two Wigan directors. Robinson reacted by saying “They (the claims) are totally untruthful. This is just part of a smear campaign which has been going on by a certain group of people who want me out of the club.”



On August 19th 1997 Jack Robinson and Tom Rathbone resigned from the Wigan board. Then Wigan Coach Eric Hughes revealed that the pair had their homes damaged and their lives threatened. Following the resignations the Rugby Football League’s financial department were called in by the club to investigate its cash flow position. Arthur Thomas was the only remaining board member left so it was he who became temporary chairman. With Robinson gone John Martin, who earlier had resigned from the board, offered to ease the club’s financial problems with a £750,000 interest free loan. But the offer was conditional on the Warriors staying in Wigan and rejecting a temporary move to Bolton. He made the offer to bide the club time to negotiate a deal to move to the proposed Robin Park stadium with Wigan Athletic on a permanent basis.



It was finally announced on October 29th 1997 that Wigan would not be moving to the Reebok Stadium. Mike Nolan, who owned finance and car leasing businesses in Wigan, took over as chairman of the club from Arthur Thomas. He was joined on the board by John Martin who returned after his row with the old regime. Tesco agreed to let the Warriors stay on at Central Park until the end of 1999, when they would then join up with Wigan Athletic at their new stadium which was about to be built at Robin Park.



This article was posted on the “Cherry and White Independent Wigan RLFC Website” as part of an article documenting the life and times of Wigan RLFC at Central Park.
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Watch yourself pal you may get barred for posting actual facts on here.

I think we might have half the Trump family posting here sometimes.
 
Oscarbon said:
And that is different to what he did for Latics how?

Also sound very similar to what Danson is doing now but in reverse and with a hell of a lot more jeopardy.
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Well we didnt have to sell Springfield Park to pay off debts accured from buying success. Our owner and chairman Mr Whelan always said he wanted to build us a new stadium as part of his plans to get us to the Premier League. Plans for Latics new stadium were in and building started before he had even taken over the Worriers.
What Danson is doing now is similar to Whelan but he has aquired a ready made stadium but a Latics owner taking over a rugby club is has its its similarities.
 
Think it's a new kit manufacturer OTBAW (Kappa) rather than a new sponsor. From next season. The football kit would have already been done (2005 kit regen) Sponsor could be interesting though. He may sponsor it himself. That would be a good idea.
 
Northampton first game at home same day as rugby league cup final. If Wigan get there. First test for our fans who like both teams. Wonder what match the owner will be.at
 
Ooooooo to Be a Wiganer said:
Northampton first game at home same day as rugby league cup final. If Wigan get there. First test for our fans who like both teams. Wonder what match the owner will be.at
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I gave over explaining myself to anyone years ago but seeing as you ask...a few of the lads have already enquired whether I'll be going to Wembley with them...they have been informed I will not due to our home game. If we had been away at Northampton ( a game I wouldn't have attended ) then 100% I would be at Wembley.

Hope this passes your fit and proper testing process ( not that I care if it doesn't )
 
Ooooooo to Be a Wiganer said:
Northampton first game at home same day as rugby league cup final. If Wigan get there. First test for our fans who like both teams. Wonder what match the owner will be.at
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Is Danson actually a worriers fan or is it something the rugby lot put out?
When he bought a 20% share in them during covid was it not because Pollard went to him with the begging bowl as the rugby had little income and Danson bailed them out. Rather than him being a fan.
 
Yon Mon said:
Is Danson actually a worriers fan or is it something the rugby lot put out?
When he bought a 20% share in them during covid was it not because Pollard went to him with the begging bowl as the rugby had little income and Danson bailed them out. Rather than him being a fan.
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Heard man United fan so could be more a footy fan than rugby I've been told
It's just that he put money in like you say to help them
So yea just a rugby thing
 
I'm sure on the PWU podcast it was possibly Nandy mentioned said that he's not massively a football/rugby fan. My suspicion is that he likes both sports but isn't an avid follower of either team and that the involvement with both is due to him knowing how much they mean to the poeople of the town and are a way he can give back to the community.
 
garyteale said:
I'm sure on the PWU podcast it was possibly Nandy mentioned said that he's not massively a football/rugby fan. My suspicion is that he likes both sports but isn't an avid follower of either team and that the involvement with both is due to him knowing how much they mean to the poeople of the town and are a way he can give back to the community.
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If done right way I think he might know money can be made in football as well
 
Ooooooo to Be a Wiganer said:
Northampton first game at home same day as rugby league cup final. If Wigan get there. First test for our fans who like both teams. Wonder what match the owner will be.at
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He will be at Wembley obviously and quite right too. If the shoe was on the other foot and the Rugby had a home game then he would be at Wembley watching Latics. That's why owners buy clubs (partly) you know, to watch the success. Not sure how you can manage to make to make any kind of deal out of it, mind.

Just for clarity, i will be at Wembley. I will be there whether the Warriors are there or not as i already have a ticket. I like watching rugby and it's a great day out. Fortunately rugby fans aren't as tribal as football fans so i will be there in my Wigan colours with my mates whether there are a sea of Saints fans around us or not. It's good craic. Wont be the first or last time that's happened.
 
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