The old Hen Pen at Central Park was a great way to attract the supporters of the

future. Would that work now in this age, with evening games and also parents

being more protective. Where I sit, probably isn't representative but I'm surrounded by

oldish people and it makes me worry about the future fan base.

The Hen Pen, memories.



Threepence to get in



"Watch him miss it, watch him miss it"



The ice cream man "Only one left, only one left"



More kids pointing "there's mi dad" Little liars

Small boys

Jumpers for goalposts

Isn't it, hmmmm

It was a shilling when I went on my own, One of the highlights of the pen was looking at players coming out.

It does seem to me there's a lot less school-age kids at the DW than even a couple of years ago.

Well summed up there Rouges.

It was 3d when I started watching in there.

I used to say "There's me Dad" when sometimes he wasn't there.

Don't remember an Ice Cream Man.

All I remember is getting bollocked for swearing, and all I did was call Eric Clay a 'soft sod'.

3d when I went too. 3d for a programme, 1.5d each way ont' bus. 3d left from pocket money for toffee.



"Hey mister will you take me and mi mate through?"



Cheering or booing the species walking to their ringside seats depending on their colours.



Daytime matches!



Memories!

Try sitting in the south stand

He said age, not mentality

The Hen Pen was where I started my Wigan RL journey back in 1982.



The image below was taken by my dad, pre 84 as the main stand cladding is grey and had not yet been painted Cherry and White.

The bulk of matches are evening kick off which means kids are up way after bed time. My grandson has season tickets for his two lads and yet they miss more matches than they attend. If it is a Thursday or Sunday match then its certainly a no, no, with school the following morning. Also with a Saturday evening game they play rugby on Sunday mornings so they need their rest. In my far off young days it was regular Saturday afternoon matches so there were lots of kids in attendance. On a more optimistic note, I watch junior rugby every Sunday and I get the impression that there are more and more kids playing the game and surely they will be the adult supporters of the future when they pack in playing.