Wigan cricket club to host fundraiser to help secure its future
Wigan sports chiefs are hosting a bank holiday fund-raiser hoping to secure the future of their cricket club.
Standish CC said the proposed cost of refurbishing its dilapidated clubhouse following a major flood was so significant that it put the future of the club in doubt.
They have being running in temporary facilities since Covid.
The club is currently awaiting the outcome of a planning application which if granted would see a new clubhouse and five homes being built.
For that to happen and to secure its viability, committee members are trying to raise as much money as possible.
SCC has teamed up with Gin on the Lane on Wigan Lane to host a mini beer and gin festival known as Gin on the Wicket on Saturday May 25.
It is the first fund-raiser to take place but if it’s successful it is hoped a number of events will take place over the next few years.
Committee member Gemma Scott said: “I wanted to put something on that will help raise money for the club.
"It is in real financial difficulty at the moment, it has never recovered since Covid.
"While it was closed it had a massive flood which we didn’t realise until we checked on it one day and everything was ruined.
"I basically bumped into the owners of Gin on the Lane who I sort of knew through a friend of a friend.
"I mentioned to them I wanted to get a portable bar which they wanted to get involved in.
"That day our first team are playing Fylde and there will be a big selection of gins and beer and cider on tap, its basically to watch the match.
"The money will go towards the restoration fund.
"At the moment we’re awaiting planning permission to build the new club.
"In the meantime we need to survive, we used to survive on bar sales but we don’t have one at the moment, we’ve lost a massive income stream.
"This is the first one so we’re seeing how well we can put on an event and build some momentum
"We want to do around four or five events a year every year.”