Reebok Stadium

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The Reebok Stadium is the home stadium of Bolton Wanderers, and is located on the Middlebrook retail park in Horwich, near Bolton. It is commonly known as 'The Reebok'.

Contents

1 History
2 Football Firsts
3 Details

3.1 Address
3.2 Phone numbers
3.3 Records

4 Average attendances
5 External links

History

It is a modern, all-seater stadium with a capacity of 28,723 which was completed in 1997, replacing the club's old ground, Burnden Park. Despite the improved facilities and larger capacity (and resultant larger ticket revenues), this move was unpopular with many of the club's fans. This was partly due to the new stadium being built out-of-town, and partly due to sentimental attachment to the old stadium and its history. In recognition of this, the street on which the stadium is situated is called Burnden Way.

The Reebok Stadium is named for long-time team sponsor, Reebok. Again, this was unpopular with many fans, as it was considered impersonal, and that too much emphasis was being placed on financial considerations. This opposition has considerably lessened since the stadium was built, however, as fans have grown accustomed to the name.

Football Firsts

The first competitive - and English Premier League - match at the stadium was a 0-0 draw between Bolton and Everton on Monday September 1, 1997. Nineteen days later, Bolton drew 0-0 with Manchester United.
The first player to score at the stadium was Alan Thompson, a penalty in the 1-1 draw against Tottenham, on September 23. Chris Armstrong, who later in his career had a short spell with Wanderers, got the equaliser.
The first League Cup match took place on September 30, 1997. Bolton drew 4-4 with Leyton Orient but won the penalty shootout.
The first club to win a competitive match at the Reebok Stadium was Aston Villa, 1-0 on Saturday October 4, in the stadium's fifth match. Savo Milosevic scored the goal.
The first FA Cup match at the stadium took place the following season, on January 1, 1999. It finished Bolton 1-2 Wolves.
Lokomotiv Plovdiv were the visitors in the first UEFA Cup match at the stadium, on September 15, 2005. Boban Janchevski scored first but two late goals from El-Hadji Diouf and Jared Borgetti secured a 2-1 victory in Bolton's first European match.

In addition to hosting football games, the stadium also offers other services, such as a hotel and function rooms. The stadium has been used to host concerts by famous acts such as Oasis, Elton John and Coldplay. The stadium has also held Great Britain rugby league internationals.

Details

Address

Burnden Way

Lostock

Bolton

BL6 6JW

Phone numbers

Main Telephone: 01204-673-673

Main Fax: 01204-673-773

Ticket Office: 0871-871-2932

Ticket Office Fax: 0871-871-8183

Records

Record Attendance: 28,353 v Leicester City, December 28th, 2003 (FA Premier League)

Average attendances

(Premier League):

2002-03: 25,017
2003-04: 26,795
2004-05: 26,006

External links

[Pictures at Reebok Stadium]

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