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Wigan Athletic FC
JJB Stadium
The Ground
The JJB 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 JJB 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, the JJB seems 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
Utmost 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.
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