"lowest-ever Wigan Athletic League average of 1,845 by 1995. In February 1995, local millionaire and owner of JJB Sports, Dave Whelan purchased the club. Through Whelan's business connections in Spain he attracted three Spaniards to the club – Roberto Martínez, Isidro Diaz, and Jesús Seba – who became known as 'The Three Amigos'. The trio became the on-pitch symbols of Whelan's ambitious plan to take Wigan Athletic into the Premier League. 'The Three Amigos' were joined at the club by John Deehan, who replaced Barrow as manager during the 1995–96 season following a 6–2 home defeat to Mansfield Town. Deehan"
"joined the international buying group Intersport. As a result, the Intersport logo was incorporated into the ""DW Sports Fitness"" fascias. In November 2012, the first stand-alone DW Sports retail site opened. Located at the Grand Arcade shopping centre in Wigan, it occupies the former JJB unit. In November 2012, in the wake of JJB Sports's demise. Mike Ashley's Sports Direct was rumoured to have purchased 60 JJB sites for a reported £30 million, leaving the other 120+ stores in the former JJB portfolio. Some reports say DW Sports is not interested in acquiring any further JJB units, whilst others say"
"the stock exchange on 26 January 2007, whereby he undertook to make no further disposals for the following 12 months. In March 2009, Whelan acquired back troubled JJB's nationwide chain of fitness clubs and stores. Wigan Athletic's stadium became the DW Stadium and their new sponsor, DWSportsfitness, taking the initials of its owner and his new company. Whelan bought Wigan Athletic in February 1995, when they were a Division Three team. After Whelan took the reins he announced that he would get Wigan Athletic into the Premier League, a promise he fulfilled in 2005. This began with the Division Three"
"the business to Morrisons for £1.5 million. Whelan acquired Wigan fishing and sports store JJ Bradburns in 1977. He renamed the company JJB Sports (even though JJB are the initials of previous owner John Jarvis Broughton) and soon focused purely on sports goods. By 1980, JJB had seven stores, and continued to expand throughout the 80s and 90s, to become the UK's second biggest sports retailer. In 2005, JJB Sports was fined £5.5 million by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for fixing the price of the English National Team and Manchester United shirts in 2000 and 2001. ""Which?"" (the"
"his position as Wigan chairman, naming as replacement his grandson, David Sharpe, with the Whelan family remaining as majority shareholders. Dave Whelan David Whelan (born 24 November 1936) is an English former footballer. During his football career, he played for Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra. Whelan is the former owner of Football League Championship club Wigan Athletic, having also been the chairman of the club for twenty years, before passing the position over to his grandson, David Sharpe, who eventually passed the ownership over to International Entertainment Corporation. He is also owner of the DW Stadium, home to Football League"
"Whelan's departure from JJB. JJB also ran health and fitness centres in the Republic of Ireland, which are now operated by Sports Direct, following the liquidation of the company. JJB Sports JJB Sports plc (stylized as JJb sports) was a British sports retailer. On 24 September 2012, shares in JJB Sports were suspended, and the firm called in administrators. On 1 October 2012, it was announced that Sports Direct had purchased part of the business, including twenty stores, the brand, and its website for £28.3 million. The original JJB sportshop was founded in the early 1900s. It was expanded and"
"David Sharpe (football club chairman) David Sharpe (born 11 May 1991) has been the chairman of English football club Wigan Athletic since March 2015. Sharpe was born in Wigan. He was educated at Shrewsbury School, and then studied business at Oxford Brookes University. Sharpe's grandfather Dave Whelan took control of Wigan Athletic in February 1995, when the club was in the Football League Third Division, then the fourth tier of English football. The club finished fourth from bottom in 1993-94, under threat of relegation to the non-league Football Conference. Under Whelan, the club was promoted several times, reaching the Premier"
"Stadium (then known as the JJB Stadium) for Wigan Athletic is 25,133 for a game against Manchester United on 11 May 2008 – the final match of the 2007–08 season. The JJB Stadium was the fourth attempt at re-development/re-location for Wigan Athletic, the first coming in 1986 when then-chairman Bill Kenyon revealed plans for a 15,000 all-seater development at Springfield Park including a hotel and shopping facilities. The club were to play at the nearby Woodhouse Stadium (formerly Wigan Municipal Stadium – now demolished) while the building work took place. In 1990, Kenyon submitted his second scheme which would cost"
"Dave Whelan David Whelan (born 24 November 1936) is an English former footballer. During his football career, he played for Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra. Whelan is the former owner of Football League Championship club Wigan Athletic, having also been the chairman of the club for twenty years, before passing the position over to his grandson, David Sharpe, who eventually passed the ownership over to International Entertainment Corporation. He is also owner of the DW Stadium, home to Football League Championship Football club Wigan Athletic and Rugby League club Wigan Warriors. In July 2015, Whelan received an honorary degree from"
"manager. After relegation was confirmed Sharpe made the decision to approach Portsmouth for their manager Paul Cook. Cook was appointed in June 2017. Wigan managed to keep star players and under Cook have dominated League One so far this season. David Sharpe (football club chairman) David Sharpe (born 11 May 1991) has been the chairman of English football club Wigan Athletic since March 2015. Sharpe was born in Wigan. He was educated at Shrewsbury School, and then studied business at Oxford Brookes University. Sharpe's grandfather Dave Whelan took control of Wigan Athletic in February 1995, when the club was in"
"been met. Ronnie had previously worked for Umbro, Sports Direct International, Pentland Group and Blane Leisure Limited. In October 2010 Ronnie held discussions with DW Sports about purchasing the retail business from Dave Whelan's company. However, DW decided not to sell the business and issued a statement to that effect. Ronnie appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Wednesday 4 April 2012 charged with fraud, theft and money laundering. He appeared alongside a clothing manufacturer who was a key supplier to the sports retailer during Ronnie's tenure as chief executive of JJB between August 2007 and March 2009. The"
"with headquarters in Shirebrook, has over 400 UK stores including the chains Sports World, Lillywhites (acquired in 2002) and Gilesports. The group employs more than 20,000 people in the UK and at stores in Ireland, Belgium and Slovenia. In 2006, it overtook JJB Sports as the UK's largest sportswear retailer. In mid-2006, it was also revealed that Ashley had held talks with John Hargreaves, founder of Matalan on both taking a 25% stake in the retail business and installing mezzanine floors in larger Matalan stores, on which Sports World outlets could be operated. Ashley has made his money by buying"
"that they are. In 2016, DW Sports Fitness acquired all 62 Fitness First clubs in the UK from Oaktree Capital Management, selling 14 of those and continuing to operate 48 under the Fitness First brand. DW Sports Fitness DW Sports Fitness is a British retailing and fitness business. Founded in March 2009 when Dave Whelan purchased the 50 JJB Sports Fitness Clubs and the attached retail stores for £83.4 million. At the time all the sites were shared between a fitness club and retail store, with most cases seeing the fitness club downstairs and the retail store upstairs. Since that"
"DW Sports Fitness DW Sports Fitness is a British retailing and fitness business. Founded in March 2009 when Dave Whelan purchased the 50 JJB Sports Fitness Clubs and the attached retail stores for £83.4 million. At the time all the sites were shared between a fitness club and retail store, with most cases seeing the fitness club downstairs and the retail store upstairs. Since that time the group has grown to encompass more than 60 sites, including stand-alone retail stores and stand-alone fitness clubs. In April 2011, in an effort to boost the profile of their retail stores DW Sports"
"Ian Lenagan Ian Lenagan (born 1946, Scholes, Wigan) is a business entrepreneur, theatre producer and shareholder of London Broncos, chairman and owner of Wigan Warriors, and former owner of Oxford United F.C. In 2016 he was appointed Chairman of the Football League. Born in Scholes, Wigan, Lenagan attended St Patrick's Primary School as a child and gained an appreciation for rugby league, playing for the local amateur club also named St Patrick's. He was educated at West Park Grammar School in St Helens before eventually moving onto university. Lenagan attended both Manchester and Liverpool universities and graduated with a BSc"
"League in 2005. Wigan won the FA Cup on 11 May 2013, but was also relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2012-2013 season.. The Whelan family continues to own all of the shares in the company that controls Wigan Athletic. Whelan had always ear marked Sharpe to run the club and he became a director at Wigan Athletic in December 2014, while the club was in the Championship. Sharpe was appointed as chairman after his grandfather's resignation in March 2015. At the age of 23, he became one of the world's youngest football bosses. Sharpe's appointment came"
"Sutton, St Helens, supermarket. The original JJB sports store was established by John Jarvis Broughton in the early 1900s and later was purchased by John Joseph Bradburn. As these initials were all the same the business was known locally as JJB's. When Whelan bought the store from Bradburn, he kept the JJB name During the early 1990s, the store portfolio grew to stores totalling 120 by 1994, at which point the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange. In July 1998, JJB bought its largest domestic competitor Sports Division. The acquisition made JJB one of the largest sports retailers"
"2018–19 Wigan Athletic F.C. season The 2018–19 season is Wigan Athletic's 87th year in existence and their first back in the Championship, after gaining promotion the previous season. Along with competing in the league, the club will also participate in the FA Cup and EFL Cup. The season covers the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019. During the season International Entertainment Corporation (IEC) completed their acquisition of the club, stadium and training grounds in a £22m deal. Chairman David Sharpe stepped down following the completion of the takeover along with other board members and was replaced by"
"in 1997. With mounting debt, the club was sold to Dave Whelan, then owner of Wigan Warriors and current Wigan Athletic chairman. Following his takeover of the club, and the death of the landlord, the ground and its surrounding land was sold to Mr. Whelan's company, Whelco Holdings. After several successful seasons, Whelan withdrew his financial backing and the club again began to struggle, Whelan charging £1,000 per match to use the stadium. This excessive rent, coupled with Whelan's decision to ban the club from accessing the clubhouse, forced the club to relocate to playing fields at St John Rigby"
"league from rugby union club Gloucester. Lenagan also signed-up Cameron Phelps and Tim Smith, for the Wigan club, during the 2008 season. Lenagan is also the non-executive chairman and 1% owner of the Sports Café, an expanding chain of sports bars and restaurants. Lenagan has recently started a new business called Animalates, a children's educational exercise club which is expected to be sold as a franchise. Ian Lenagan Ian Lenagan (born 1946, Scholes, Wigan) is a business entrepreneur, theatre producer and shareholder of London Broncos, chairman and owner of Wigan Warriors, and former owner of Oxford United F.C. In 2016"
"2008, is a stainless steel sculpture of a face. Created by sculptor Rick Kirby, The Face stands at tall and cost £80,000. The 25,138-capacity DW Stadium, originally called the JJB Stadium, is located in the Newtown area of Wigan and is shared by professional association football club Wigan Athletic with professional rugby league football club Wigan Warriors. The Latics moved into the stadium upon its completion in 1999 from their former home, Springfield Park. The Warriors also moved into the stadium in 1999 from their previous home, Central Park. The 1,200-capacity multi-use Robin Park arena is located next to the"
"attention due to a perforated gall bladder which needed operating on. Lindsay was ordered by his doctor not to attend his final ever match at the JJB Stadium as chairman of Wigan, a match which saw Wigan defeat their closest rivals St. Helens 20-12 in order to grab the last available place in the 2007 engage Super League play-offs. New owner & chairman Ian Lenagan took official control on 1 December 2007. When Lindsay returned for his second stint at Wigan in 2000, he was subsequently put on to the Wigan Athletic F.C. board by Dave Whelan. At the same"
"of the chant. On 31 May 2016, Electro duo Blonde released a version of the song and entered the Charts and the iTunes top 10 songs. Brentford Milton Keynes Dons Wigan Athletic Will Grigg William Donald Grigg (born 3 July 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Wigan Athletic. He represents Northern Ireland at international level. Grigg began his professional career at Walsall and came to prominence during the 2012–13 season, winning the club's Player of the Season and Players' Player of the Season awards. Grigg was born in Solihull, West Midlands. He was educated"
"joined the club after it had moved from Central Park to the JJB Stadium after a buy-out from Dave Whelan which led to both the rugby team and the local soccer team, Wigan Athletic moving to the JJB. The club's dominance had come under threat now that the league had gone fully professional and the introduction of the salary cap and 20/20 ruling (now 20/25) which meant the club at the time had only won two Super League titles since 1996. With the return of Maurice Lindsay the club won one Challenge Cup, under the stewardship of Stuart Raper in"
"DW Stadium The DW Stadium is a sports stadium in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The ground is owned and managed by Wigan Football Company Limited, which is 78% owned by Wigan Athletic and it is used by Wigan Athletic football club and Wigan Warriors rugby league club, the rugby league club having a 50 years lease on tenancy to play games at the stadium. Built and opened in 1999, it is named after its main sponsor, DW Sports Fitness. In UEFA matches, it is called Wigan Athletic Stadium due to UEFA regulations on sponsorship. The stadium architect was Alfred McAlpine."
"fabulous group of colleagues and business partners over the last four years. The time is now right for someone else to lead the peloton and take Wiggle forward to future success.” He has since been linked to a bid to buy the internet retailer sofa.com. Humphrey Cobbold Humphrey Michael Cobbold (born Nairobi, Kenya 1964) is the current Chief Executive Officer of Pure Gym - the UK’s largest Gym operator. He joined the business in 2015 when there were 84 gyms and has steered growth of the business to over 200 facilities in 2018. He oversaw the sale of the business"
"Zygi Wilf Zygmunt ""Zygi"" Wilf (born April 22, 1950) is an American billionaire real estate developer. He is the chairman of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. Wilf was born in Germany on April 22, 1950. His parents, Joseph (1925-2016) and Elizabeth Wilf (1932-), are Polish Jews and Holocaust survivors from Nazi occupied Poland. The Wilf family immigrated to the United States from Europe in the early 1950s and settled in Hillside, New Jersey. After a brief stint as used car salesmen, Joseph and his brother Harry Wilf began purchasing apartment buildings and renting units. Eventually, the brothers began building single-family homes"
"the following season's Europa League. Stephen Vaughan Sr. Stephen Vaughan (born c. 1962) is a convicted criminal, an English businessman from Liverpool. Through his ownership of Vaughan Promotions, originally a boxing promotion and management company, he has owned the Barrow and Chester City football clubs, serving as chairman of both. During his time as chairman of the two clubs, both clubs initially saw success on the pitch, but his tenure at both ended due to Vaughan's involvement in criminal investigations. Vaughan has also been involved with Droylsden F.C., and has been chairman of the Widnes Vikings rugby league team. Vaughan"
"the club shops were outsourced to the sports retailer JJB Sports, who later filed for administration. The JJB deal turned the £1.5 million loss the club was making on merchandising alone into a profit of £800,000. He also was responsible for negotiating the new Kitbag deal which has taken club sales to £10 million. The savings were also significant in terms of staff time and it was soon recognised that the club was not equipped to handle a retail operation. The club's land assets, such as the Eileen Craven site on Walton Lane in Liverpool, were sold and developed into"
"Consumers' Association) issued proceedings against JJB, suing for damages on behalf of consumers affected by the price fixing. Whelan gradually scaled down his interests in the company, and in 2005 stepped down as chairman. However, in October 2006, he personally intervened to overturn the settlement of a pay dispute at JJB's Wigan warehouse negotiated by new chairman Tom Knight, branding it ""the equivalent of Communism"", prompting a two-day strike. In January 2007 he sold £50m worth of shares in JJB, before selling his remaining 29% stake in June 2007. This action was in breach of an agreement Whelan had with"
"title in 1996–97, the Division Two title in 2002–03 and promotion to the Premiership as Championship runners-up in 2004–05. He funded the £30 million construction of the club's new JJB Stadium (now the DW Stadium) which opened in 1999 and on its completion was one of the largest football stadiums outside the Premier League. Wigan, who were tipped to be relegated from the Premier League in their first season, not only managed to stay up (and remained in the top flight for eight years), but claimed a 10th place league position and also reached the final of the Football League"
"on industry rivals in 2000, handing the Office of Fair Trading evidence of business meetings held by sports retailers to fix the price of football shirts. Ashley attended a meeting at the Cheshire home of David Hughes, the chairman of now bankrupt rival Allsports. At the meeting Dave Whelan, the founder of JJB Sports, reportedly told Ashley: """"There's a club in the north, son, and you're not part of it."""" On 23 May 2007, in a surprise move, Ashley bought Sir John Hall's 41.6% stake in Newcastle United at one pound per share, for a total cost of £55,342,223 via"
"the club after a proposed takeover from a ""genuine Wigan fan"" earlier in the year. On 24 October 2007, it was announced that Ian Lenagan, former owner of , had completed his takeover of Wigan Warriors, buying out Whelan's 89% stake in the club with the deal taking effect from 1 December 2007. Wigan Warriors Rugby League Club Chairman Maurice Lindsay and business tycoon Dave Whelan, the then owner of the JJB Sports empire, had already been making noises about forming a rugby union side. Initial contact was made via Whelan's Finance Director Simon Moorehead and an exciting night saw"