Widnes to host Wigan game
Widnes will host Wigan tonight at the Select Security Stadium after the Warriors postponed the match from the DW Stadium.
The Vikings’ scheduled home fixture on Sunday 2nd July will now become its away fixture at the DW Stadium.
Widnes CEO James Rule said: “The game will kick off at 8pm. Having requested and received compensation from Wigan Warriors to help mitigate the commercial loss, the Club felt that it should make a gesture to both sets of supporters.
“We have reduced our ticketing price to a flat rate of £10 for all categories and Children (Under 16’s) will be free.
“Last night’s announcement from Wigan caught us by surprise. As a Club we have worked into the early hours of the morning, liaising with the RFL and Wigan Warriors to ascertain the options available to us.
“The RFL confirmed that any immediate rescheduling of this fixture could only be decided between the two Clubs and conversations therefore continued throughout this morning.
“One option was to seek a rescheduling of this fixture at a later stage of the season. In our opinion, that was not a tenable option in light of the physical challenges of already having the Easter weekend fixtures and a second short turnaround weekend to facilitate the mid-season international.
“To then try and accommodate another week with three games would be foolhardy from both a performance and player welfare point of view.
“That left us with two options: to leave the matter in the hands of the RFL Board and pursue our Club being awarded the two points, as a consequence of potential misconduct and breach of operational rules by Wigan Warriors.
“However, with an independent RFL Board, there is no guarantee that such an outcome would be achieved, which would leave us back in the starting position of having to accommodate a rescheduled fixture.
“We therefore deemed it in the best interest of the Club to work with the Stadium management and take on this fixture; I am immensely grateful for their support in facilitating this at such short notice.
“I can confirm that those supporters, who have already purchased for the scheduled match tonight at the DW Stadium, will have their tickets refunded in full from the Vikings Retail Superstore.
“Please note that no refunds will be given this evening in order to minimise pressure on the ticket office window. However, refunds can be claimed from Monday morning from the Retail Superstore.
“I would like to apologise on behalf of the Vikings to our supporters and those of Wigan Warriors, as well as my staff and the players of both Clubs.
“This has been a difficult period for everybody, but it was not something that we could have forseen. We have tried to do what is best for our Club, the supporters and the wider game by ensuring that this fixture could be facilitated.
“To face the challenge of the World Club Champions, we need the inspirational backing of our supporters. We appreciate the challenges that this short notice presents, but hope our supporters recognise the hard work that has gone into ensuring this game can go ahead.
“We hope that the gesture of £10 tickets for all adult categories and free entry for under 16’s inspires the crowd.”
