Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic are one of the youngest clubs in the Football League, formed as they were in 1932. For the majority of that time they played their games at Springfield Park, but when it was decided that that old ground was no longer up to task it became clear that the club would either have to move elsewhere or revamp the place. Plans to do just that had actually been mooted as early as 1986, with numerous ideas getting as far as the planning permission stage before being abandoned. A move to the now demolished Robin Park Stadium was considered until Wigan Council announced that they would be looking to build a new ground with Wigan Warriors, the rugby league team. When Stephen Gage sold the club to Dave Whelan in 1995 it became clear that the most sensible decision would be for the football club to join forces with their rugby counterparts in order to build a state-of-the-art multi-purpose stadium that all of the city could enjoy.