Brick Community Stadium
The Brick Community Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Robin Park in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is used by Wigan Warriors rugby league club and Wigan Athletic football club. The stadium is owned by local businessman, Mike Danson, who owns both Wigan Athletic and the Wigan Warriors.
Built and opened in 1999, it was initially the JJB Stadium after its main sponsor. In UEFA matches, it was called Wigan Athletic Stadium due to UEFA regulations on sponsorship. From 2009 to 2024, it was renamed the DW Stadium, and from 13 May 2024, it was again renamed, this time as the Brick Community Stadium, reflecting a partnership with a local charity.
The stadium was built by Alfred McAlpine. Wigan Athletic and Wigan Warriors moved into it from their long-term homes of Springfield Park and Central Park respectively. International rugby league matches have also taken place at the venue.
Its current capacity is 25,138—seated in four single-tier stands—and its record attendance was on 11 May 2008 when 25,133 people watched Wigan Athletic play Manchester United in the final match of the 2007–08 Premier League season.
History
JJB Stadium era
The stadium was built by Alfred McAlpine and completed in August 1999.Wigan Athletic had spent the previous 67 years playing at Springfield Park, and their first match at what was initially called the JJB Stadium was a friendly against Morecambe, just before the stadium's official opening.
The stadium's inauguration was marked with a friendly between Wigan Athletic and neighbours Manchester United – who were then reigning European champions, Premier League champions and FA Cup holders – with United's manager Sir Alex Ferguson officially opening the stadium.
The first competitive football match there took place on 7 August 1999, with Wigan Athletic facing Scunthorpe United in a Second Division match. Simon Haworth scored twice, including the first competitive goal at the new stadium, as Athletic won 3–0.
Wigan Warriors moved to the stadium a month after it opened, once they had played their final home game of the 1999 regular season at Central Park, which had been the club's home since 1902. After their former ground was sold, the possibility of ground sharing with Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium was presented, but the new stadium in Wigan was chosen instead. Their first game there was a play-off match against Castleford Tigers, which they lost, on 19 September. The Warriors did not lose a competitive match at the stadium in 2001 and 2020.
The first away team to win a competitive football match at the stadium was Wigan Athletic. A first round FA Cup tie against non-league Cambridge City was played there due to City's ground being deemed unsuitable to host the tie. Wigan played in their changed strip and used the away dressing room since it was technically a 'home' game for Cambridge City. A Stuart Barlow brace secured the win for Wigan.
On 7 March 2005, Greater Manchester police announced that they would stop policing Wigan Athletic matches at the stadium from 2 April. This move would almost certainly have resulted in the stadium's safety certificate being revoked, effectively forcing the team to play behind closed doors. The move was part of an ongoing dispute between the police force and Dave Whelan surrounding £300,000 in unpaid policing costs. The police's decision would not have affected Wigan Warriors, whose games are stewarded instead of policed. The situation was temporarily resolved on 8 March with both sides reaching an agreement that would allow Athletic to play at the ground until the end of the season. Four months later, Wigan Athletic, facing the prospect of playing their home games in the Premier League in an empty stadium, grudgingly paid the money they owed to the police. The club successfully appealed against the payments in court and won damages from the police.
On 7 September 2008, Wigan Warriors revealed plans to take their Super League Play-Off against Bradford Bulls to a neutral venue. The controversial relocation was forced due to a fixture clash, with a match between football clubs Wigan Athletic and Sunderland to take place less than 24 hours after the Super League match. Whelan, who controlled Wigan Athletic, refused permission for the Warriors to stage their elimination at the stadium, citing concerns over the playing surface. The game was relocated to Widnes Vikings home ground, the Stobart Stadium. In the same season, JJB Sports announced they would not continue to sponsor Wigan Warriors, leaving them without a main shirt sponsor.
The stadium's average attendance has increased significantly since its opening in 1999. The Wigan Warriors' average attendance has increased by 32.5% from its first full season at the stadium in 2000, and Wigan Athletic's average attendance has increased by 181.2% from the 2000–01 season. The highest recorded attendance for a rugby league match is shared between three fixtures; the Wigan Warriors' fixture against St Helens R.F.C. on 25 March 2005; Game 4 of the 2005 Tri-Nations series between Great Britain and Australia on 6 November; and Game 5 of the 2004 Tri-Nations series between Great Britain and Australia on 13 November at 25,004 each. The highest recorded football attendance at the stadium was Wigan Athletic's home fixture against Manchester United on 11 May 2008—the final day of the 2007–08 Premier League season—with 25,133 fans attending. This is the stadium's highest recorded overall attendance to date, and was the match where Manchester United were crowned Premier League champions for that season.
DW Stadium era
In March 2009, Dave Whelan acquired a chain of fitness clubs from JJB Sports. In the process, Whelan used the business to set up a new venture, DWSportsfitness and announced that the stadium name would change to the DW Stadium in August. Whelan also announced that at the same time the stadium was renamed, its ownership would pass from himself to Wigan Athletic. Concerns about the future of Wigan Warriors were arrested in the same announcement, as Whelan extended the lease on the stadium by 50 years for the rugby league team. Before their match against Leeds Rhinos in July 2009, both clubs were given the opportunity to rename one stand, with the intention of renaming them in honour to a recognised player from each club's history. The rugby league club were granted the East Stand, which they renamed 'The Boston Stand' in tribute to the Welsh Billy Boston, As Wigan Athletic had spent many years in the lower leagues it was recognised that most of their players were not known, so the West Stand was renamed 'The Springfield Stand' after the club's former ground.In August 2020 it announced that DW Sports was to enter administration. Later that month it was announced that Frasers Group would buy "certain" assets from DW Sports Fitness for £37m, but would not be using the firm's brand name.
The match of 8 October 2022 against Cardiff City was controversial when it turned out one goal was bigger than the other. The match went ahead when officials ruled that there was no advantage to either team as they changed ends at half-time. Cardiff won 3–1.
Brick Community Stadium era
From 13 May 2024, the stadium was renamed The Brick Community Stadium, following a partnership with a local Wigan charity, The Brick, which works to address poverty and homelessness. The name will remain in place until the end of 2025; Wigan Athletic and Wigan Warriors committed to securing a long-term commercial stadium partner for 2026 and beyond.Structure and facilities
The stadium design is based on cantilevered, prefabricated steel roof and terrace structuring. It is an all-seater arena with a seating capacity of 25,138. The stands are rectangular and both the northern and southern stands have supporting steel girders suspended from beneath the roof. The four stands are of approximately the same height, however the stadium is not totally enclosed, leaving four exposed corners.The seats are a mixture of both resident teams' main colours of red and blue. The stadium is fully compliant with safety guidelines for a sports ground.
The stadium also has facilities and access for up to 90 fans with disabilities, with facilities for partially sighted fans.
The pitch is large enough to conform with both FIFA and the standard rugby league requirements, at. This leaves an in-goal area just deep for rugby matches. It is mostly made of natural grass, with 2% of the pitch composed of synthetics to provide stability. The ground has irrigation, and an under-heating system to resist icy weather.
Boston Stand (east)
Capacity – 8,238The Boston Stand, named after Wigan Warriors legend Billy Boston, runs parallel to the western 'Springfield Stand' along the side of the pitch. The Boston Stand is the largest stand in the stadium, holding an electronic scoreboard and has WIGAN spelt out in the seats and has been occupied by the home fans since 2005.
Springfield Stand (west)
Capacity – 6,100The Springfield Stand, named after Wigan Athletic's former ground Springfield Park contains the stadium's vital facilities; four dressing rooms, benches, a doping control room and a treatment room for the players, as well as four executive boxes, ten radio commentary points and a designated TV studio.
Heatable South Stand (south)
Capacity – 5,400The South Stand was named the "Leam Richardson stand" in November 2021, after Wigan Athletic striker Charlie Wyke collapsed during training after suffering a cardiac arrest. Following his discharge from hospital Wyke praised Richardson's swift initiation of CPR saying: "...my life has been saved by the actions of the gaffer and the club doctor Jonathan Tobin...". It is used to seat the home fans behind the goal, opposite to the away fans in the North Stand.
In January 2024, the stand was renamed as the "Heatable South Stand", for the remainder of the 2023/24, and 2024/25 seasons, as part of a multi year deal.