Reebok Stadium

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The Reebok Stadium

Full name	The Reebok Stadium
Nickname	The Reebok
Built	1997
Opened	1997
Capacity	28,723
Home of	Bolton Wanderers
Pitch size	110 x 72 yards

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

1 History
2 Football Firsts
3 Details
4 Average attendances
5 External links

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.

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 Milošević 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 for the visitors, but two late goals from El-Hadji Diouf and Jared Borgetti secured a 2-1 home victory in Bolton's first European match.
The first rugby league football world club challenge took place there in 2001 between the National Rugby League (NRL) Grand Final premiers Brisbane Broncos and the Super League grand final premiers St Helens. A replay for the world club challenge took place in February 2007, on this occasion St Helens were the eventual winners.

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. Most notably; footage from the Coldplay concert was used in the video for the single Fix You which shows lead singer Chris Martin entering the stage as the song reaches its climax. The stadium has also held Great Britain rugby league internationals, The UK Open Darts Championship and boxing matches with local boxer Amir Khan featuring.