The Elite Training Center for Rugby League and Women’s Football has been confirmed

• Wigan Warriors and Wigan Athletic to invest in the new Elite Women’s and Girls’ Training Center at Edge Hall Road Stadium in Orrell.
• The site will be relaunched for the first time in 2019 with a wider focus on delivering a range of sports, health and wellbeing initiatives.
• Groundbreaking initiative for both clubs, with a first-of-its-kind training center in the UK.

Wigan Warriors and Wigan Athletic are delighted to unveil plans to redevelop the Edge Hall Road stadium as an elite training facility for rugby league and women’s football.

The Edge Hall Road site in Orrell has been idle since Wigan Warriors moved their team operations to Robin Park Arena in 2019. Despite not being used, the site has remained in good condition and provides an excellent base to fulfill aspirations Women and Girls Trail Development Club.

The elite training facility for Wigan Warriors will be the first of its kind for Rugby League, with no other club having such bespoke facilities. For Wigan Athletic, the center demonstrates a strong commitment to developing the women’s team directly under the club’s management, as well as a facility where Wigan Athletic Women will play their home games from 2024/25.

The intention is that the Edge Hall Road site will provide an elite facility that will enable Wigan Athletic to build a solid foundation in the development of the inaugural women’s team, which is operated directly under the club’s management, while also giving Wigan Warriors the opportunity to significantly improve the well-established pathway for Women and Girls.

Plans for the site include a wider vision to support the health and wellbeing of the local community while strategically working with community sports clubs to host specific matches at the site. The clubs also plan to use the site for community outreach through Wigan Athletic Community Trust and Wigan Warriors Community Foundation.

Site work will be underway over the coming months and will include a full refurbishment of the clubhouse and surrounding facilities.

Wigan Warriors chief executive Kris Radlinski said: “This marks another significant leap forward for women’s sport in our city. While the football club is just starting out on its journey into women’s football, our rugby team has been dedicated to promoting women’s rugby for several years.

“We have invested heavily in a women’s performance program including training and medical infrastructure led by Denis Betts.

“Establishing their dedicated facility will propel the program to even greater heights. Furthermore, this is another example of us working in partnership with Wigan Athletic, both from a performance program perspective and with both clubs’ community initiatives.”

Gregor Rioch, sporting director of Wigan Athletic, added: “On the back of the club’s historic announcement in March, it once again underlines the importance we place on both women’s football and sport in general here at Wigan Athletic and in the whole neighborhood.

“In partnership with Wigan Warriors Women, the intention is to provide the best possible facility for our women’s football team to develop, whilst ensuring that the local community also benefits from this facility.

“We are excited to see the work develop before our women’s team start their season there in September.”