The DW Stadium was opened in 1999 after the Club moved from its former home of Springfield Park, where it had been in residence since the Club's formation in 1932. It is similar in design to Huddersfield's McAlpine Stadium, having both been built by the same company. However the DW stadium is different in that the stands are rectangular (compared to the semi circular at Huddersfield) and both ends have the supporting steel girders suspended from beneath the roof, rather sitting above the stand itself. Unusually for a new stadium, it does seem to be lacking in the number of corporate areas and executive boxes. Overall the stadium has somewhat of a bland look. In fact I would say that it looks more interesting from outside from a distance than it does on the inside.

The four stands are of roughly the same height and there is an electric scoreboard above the Boston (East) Stand, on one side of the stadium. The stadium is not totally enclosed, all corners being open. There is plenty of leg room between the rows of seats and the views of the pitch were excellent. The stands seem to rise up quite steeply and do sit back a fair distance from the pitch. Apparently the pitch utilises some sort of new type of grass - on my visit the pitch was immaculate. The stadium is shared with Wigan Warriors Rugby League club.

The stadium was originally named the JJB Stadium under a sponsorship deal was lasted for 10 years. This was replaced by a new deal in August 2009, which saw the stadium being renamed the DW Stadium in partnership with DW Sports Fitness.

Of interest outside the ground is Robins Park, where Wigan play their reserve games and athletics meetings are held. There is quite a sizeable stand on one side of the Park, which was better than a lot that I have seen at other grounds around the country.

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DW Stadium - External View

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Away fans are located in the North Stand at one end of the stadium, where up to 5,400 visiting supporters can be accommodated. The stadium is functional and the facilities adequate, but it just seems to lack something, to give it that memorable feeling. The view of the playing action and leg room are generally adequate. To the left of the away section, tends to be the Wigan fans who wish to sing congregate, who are aided by a drummer. On the concourse alcohol is available in the form of Tetleys and Carling. To try and bring some the order, there is a queuing system in force which is overseen by the stewards (plus if I remember correctly you could only buy two beers per person). Apart from the beer, I did enjoy one of the best meat and potato pies, that I have had in a long time.

Scott Carpenter a visiting Newcastle fan adds; 'the concourses seemed too small for the large amount of away fans attending on my visit, which led to it being rather uncomfortably crowded at half time'. Pat Bird a visiting West Bromwich Albion fan informs me; I was very impressed with the price to get in (£20), for a seat right behind the goal. The end given over to visitors was steeply banked with generous leg room. So far so good, however, I would have to agree with the comments of the Newcastle fan. It was an almighty struggle to get through to the loos at half-time. The concourse and toilet areas did not seem adequate to cope with a large away following. We parked in the car park behind the visitors end, which was fine, however, it took an age to get away after the match. For anyone visiting the DW you could do worse than have a meal after the match in one of the nearby restaurants before heading for home. Within 100 metres of the ground there is a Franky & Bennys, an Indian restaurant and a number of other establishments'.

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Thanks to Tim Rigby for supplying some photos for this page.

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Boston Stand

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From The North:
Leave the M6 at Junction 26 and follow the signs for Wigan town centre (this road meets the A49) then turn left into Robin Park and continue into Scot Lane. The ground is down Scot Lane on your right.

Paul Heywood adds; 'I would recommend that away supporters, travelling from the South, should come off at Junction 26 (see From The North) as there are often queues from Junction 25 towards the stadium.

Map showing the location of DW Stadium (at the bottom of this page).

Car Parking:
There is a large car park at the stadium, specifically for the use of away supporters, which costs £4 per car or motorbike, £10 for mini buses and £20 for coaches. As you may expect though, there is sometimes quite a delay in getting out of this car park after the game, especially of there has been a larger than normal crowd in attendance. Make sure though that you avoid parking on the nearby Retail Park, as parking there is restricted to two hours and I have been informed of a number of fans who have ended up getting parking tickets (£50) because of this.

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Springfield Stand

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Away Fans:
North Stand: Adults £28 (B £25) (C £20), Concessions £20 (B £18) (C £15)

Juniors can obtain a further discount on the concession price in the East & South Stands, providing that they first become Club members.

Concessions apply to Senior Citizens and Under 16's.

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Ground Layout

For a stadium plan showing the individual block numbers then visit the
Mayfair Global Events website. Please note they are NOT connected to the Club.

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Dom Bickerton (Stoke City) 31/3/12
Robert Allen (Manchester City) 16/1/12
Elliot Guthrie (Arsenal) 3/12/11
Zac Cohen (West Ham United) 15/5/11
Patrick Burke (Everton) 30/01/10
Alex Payne (Aston Villa) 26/10/08
Sam Wood (Leeds United) 7/1/06

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Instructions for using the map:
- Use the bar on the left of the map to zoom in / out using the + / - keys.
- Click and drag an area of the map to move around or use the up/down, left/right arrows
- Click the Satellite button to see aerial view photograph.

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Football Ground Guide Index