Macron Stadium (formerly Reebok Stadium) is the home stadium of English Championship club Bolton Wanderers, and is located on the Middlebrook Retail Park, Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester.
From its opening in 1997 until 2014, the stadium was named "Reebok Stadium", after long-term club sponsors Reebok. However, after Bolton Wanderers signed an initial four-year naming rights and kit deal with Italy's Macron sportswear company, the stadium name was changed to reflect the new deal.
A hotel forms part of the stadium's construction and some of the rooms offer views of the pitch. The hotel was operated by the De Vere Group until August 2013, when the club assumed ownership and renamed it the "Bolton Whites Hotel". The stadium is also the temporary location of Bolton Wanderers Free School.
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History
Macron Stadium is a modern, all-seater stadium with a capacity of almost 29,000 and was completed in 1997, replacing the club's old ground, Burnden Park. The lead consultant/architect of the project was Lobb Sports, while local firm Bradshaw Gass & Hope acted as planning supervisors and quantity surveyors, the contractor was Birse Construction, and Deakin Callard & Partners provided structural engineering services. The value of the contract was £25 million (US$42.1 million). The stadium is noted for its distinct gabled architecture, first pioneered by the John Smith's Stadium. The upper-tier corners do not have seating due to concerns of health and safety access.
The stadium was opened in 1997 by John Prescott, a Labour Party politician who was the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time.
The stadium consists of four stands: The Bolton At Home Family (North) Stand at one end; the South Stand (Nationwide Franking Sense and also the away end) at the other end; the West Stand at one side of the pitch; and the Nat Lofthouse (east) Stand at the other side.
When the stadium was named after long-time team sponsor Reebok in 1997, fans considered the title impersonal and believed that too much emphasis was being placed on financial considerations. This opposition considerably lessened after the stadium was built, as fans grew accustomed to the name and were bolstered by Reebok's status as a local company.
The new Macron title was applied in July 2014 after the Bolton Wanderers club finalised a partnership with the large Italian sportswear brand. In April 2014, club chairman Phil Gartside stated that he was "proud" to be associated with Macron and had "been very impressed with their [Macron's] passion for football". A four-year duration was negotiated for the Macron deal and the club has the option to extend at completion.
Hotel Stadium Video
Footballing firsts
- The first competitive - and Premier League - match at the stadium was a 0-0 draw between Bolton and Everton on Monday 1 September 1997.
- The first player to score at the stadium was Alan Thompson, a penalty in the 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur, on 23 September. Chris Armstrong, who later in his career had a short spell with Wanderers, got the equaliser.
- On 6 September 2002, it hosted its first international, which was England's under-21's international friendly against Yugoslavia's under-21's. It ended in a 1-1 draw with 10,531 in attendance.
- Lokomotiv Plovdiv were the visitors in the first UEFA Cup match at the stadium, on 15 September 2005. Boban Janchevski scored first for the visitors, but late goals from El Hadji Diouf and Jared Borgetti secured a 2-1 home victory in the first competitive European match in Bolton's history.
Other events
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, Pink, Elton John & Coldplay.
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 also hosted The UK Open Darts Championship, boxing matches with local boxer Amir Khan and 16 April 2011 when it hosted its first rugby union match when Sale Sharks lost to London Irish.
Every November until 2012, the Reebok Stadium hosted Kidz up North which is one of the largest free UK exhibitions totally dedicated to children with disabilities and special needs, their parents, carers and professionals who work with them.
The venue's Premier Suite is home to the UK's leading amateur mixed martial arts event, Full Contact Contender. As of 16 March 2013 The Reebok has played host to three Full Contact Contender events.
Rugby League
The stadium has also hosted six rugby league matches. The results were as follows;
Rugby League Test Matches
World Club Challenge
Bolton Wanderers Free School
In 2014 the club established Bolton Wanderers Free School at the stadium. It is a sixth form centre offering sports and related courses for 16- to 19-year-olds. The centre utilises the facilities of the stadium for most of its teaching and learning.
Attendances
Record attendances
Record attendance: 28,353 v Leicester City, 28 December 2003 (FA Premier League)
Lowest attendance for a competitive match: 1,540 v Everton U23s, 30 August 2016 Football League Trophy, Northern Group Stage, Game One
Lowest Premier League attendance: 17,014 v Derby County, 2 January 2008
Record UEFA Cup attendance: 26,163 v Atlético Madrid, 14 February 2008 Last 32 1st leg
Record FA Cup attendance: 23,523 v Arsenal, 12 March 2005 quarter finals
Record League Cup Attendance: 18,037 v Tottenham Hotspur, 27 October 2004 3rd round
Average attendances
Transport
The stadium's West Stand lies about 200 metres from Horwich Parkway railway station. The station lies between Lostock and Blackrod on the Manchester to Preston Line. Football specials operate to and from this station on matchdays. Bus services are laid on by the club from across the borough when the Wanderers are at home.
On non-matchdays Horwich Parkway is served by three services an hour in each direction, operated by Northern or TransPennine Express. Numerous routes serve bus stops near or at the ground, operated by Arriva and FirstBus.
Nat Lofthouse Statue
Bolton Wanderers unveiled a bronze statue of their most famous player, Nat Lofthouse, prior to a game against Queens Park Rangers on 24 August 2013. The statue, which cost £100,000 due to the generosity of public donations and sponsors, is situated near to the South West corner at the Macron Stadium and was officially revealed by club owner Eddie Davies in a special ceremony.
Club chaplain Phil Mason, chairman Phil Gartside and the son of Nat Lofthouse - Jeff Lofthouse, also took part in the ceremony as did sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn. Hedges-Quinn had taken 18 months overall to complete the project having worked successfully on the statues such as that of Bob Stokoe at The Stadium of Light, Ted Bates at St Mary's Stadium and Sir Bobby Robson and Alf Ramsey at Portman Road.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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