Macron Stadium

Macron Stadium, until recently known as Reebok Stadium, opened on 1 September 1997 with a league match between Bolton and Everton (0-0). Everton had also been the first league opponent at Bolton’s previous home, Burnden Park.

Macron Stadium is particularly known for its characteristic roof structure. It was initially named after long-time club sponsor Reebok, but changed names in 2014 following a new sponsorship deal.

General information

Official website: https://www.bwfc.co.uk/

Arena capacity: 28,723 spectators

Address: Burnden Way, Horwich, Bolton BL6 6JW, UK

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 53°34′50″N 2°32′8″W

Year of construction: 1997

Construction cost: 25 million pounds

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 110 x 72 yards (100.6 x 65.8 metres)

Seating plan of the Macron Stadium

From the outside the stadium looks simply stunning and can be seen for miles around. The view of it driving down the slip road from the M61 motorway, is one of the greatest sights to be seen in English football, especially when it is lit up at night. It has a great eye-catching design and is unlike anything else in the country.

The inside is functional and tidy, but not unsurprisingly lacks the wow factor of the stadium’s external appearance. It is totally enclosed and each stand has a conventional rectangular lower tier, with a semi-circular upper tier above. Situated between the two tiers is a row of executive boxes. Above the stands, there is a gap between the back of the stands and the roof to allow additional light to reach the pitch.

The roofs are then topped with some diamond shaped floodlights that sit above a striking supporting tubular steel supporting structure. There is a large video screen in one corner, situated between the South and Nat Lofthouse Stands. One unusual feature of the ground is that the teams emerge from separate tunnels on either side of the halfway line. Outside the stadium is a statue of former player and legend Nat Lofthouse.

In August 2018 the stadium was renamed the University of Bolton Stadium in a sponsorship stadium. Previously it had been called the Macron Stadium and before that the Reebok Stadium when it was first opened in 1997.

As is the case with most stadiums built from the ‘90s onwards The Macron has a bowl style to its arrangement. The ground is still divided into four distinct sections, however, each named after the geographical location of the stand itself with occasional changes because of sponsorship deals. Here’s a bit of info on each:

• The North Stand – The upper section of this stand houses the club’s family section. The North Stand is found behind the goal.
• The South Stand – The ‘South’ part of this stand’s name indicates that it’s at the opposite goal-end to The North Stand. This stand normally houses the away supporters and has a capacity of 6000.
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• The East Stand – Based on the East side of the ground, this stand runs along the side of the pitch and has numerous executive boxes separating the upper section from the lower.
• The West Stand – Typically considered to be the main stand at The Macron owing to the fact that it houses the club’s facilities like the changing rooms and the dug-outs, this stand also contains the Director’s Box and executive boxes.
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Away fans

Away fans are housed in the two tiered South Stand at one end of the ground, where up to 5,000 supporters can be accommodated, although the normal allocation is nearer 3,000. The lower tier is shared with home supporters, but the upper tier is given entirely to away fans. The leg room and facilities within this stand are good and the atmosphere is boosted in the home end by the presence of a drummer.

Away fans should note that the bottom rows of the lower tier are not covered by the roof and therefore you may get wet if it rains. The stewards at the stadium can be a bit overzealous, often throwing out fans for little reason. My advice to away fans is do not even think about celebrating a goal by going further forward than the front row.

They’ll have you even if you’re just on the bit of track behind the adverts. Also you may be told to sit down during the game, take heed and do so. Fans have been removed who persistently stand up during the game’. The refreshment facilities are good (albeit queuing times can be long on occasion). There are proper queuing barriers and exit lanes.

One person takes the order and deals with the money, whilst another prepares your order at the same time. Simple when you think about it, it is just a pity that other clubs seem to think that supporters enjoy the lottery of being in the scrum that develops around the refreshment kiosk. Food on offer includes a range of Holland’s Pies; Chicken Balti, Potato & Meat, Peppered Steak, Potato & Cheese (all £3), Cheeseburgers (£3.70) and Hot Dogs (£3.70).

The stadium is certainly one of the best in England, although a capacity of under 30,000 means that it is on the small side compared to other stadia. There is 125 room hotel located behind the away end of the ground, 19 of which have views of the pitch.

Where to buy tickets?

Nowadays buying tickets online is always the most preferable method, with the club’s online ticket portal operating 24 hours a day. You can buy tickets in person from Bolton Central, the club’s official shop that is located at The Macron Stadium itself. If you prefer the old school methods of picking up tickets then you might want to consider giving the club a call directly. You can also buy tickets by sending them a fax or even, if you’re really old school, a letter.

Tickets for Bolton Wanderers matches cost different amounts of money depending on where in the ground you’d like to sit and how old you are.

Bolton Wanderers operates a category system of ticket pricing (A, B, C & D) whereby the most popular matches will cost more to watch than the least popular ones. Category A prices are shown below with Category B, C & D shown in brackets:

Home Fans

1. West Stand Upper Tier: Adults £35 (B £32) (C £30) (D £15) Over 65’s/Under 23’s £29 (B £26) (C £24) (D £10) Under 18’s £12 (B £12) (C £12) (D £10) Under 12’s £10 (all categories).
2. West Stand Lower Tier: Adults £32 (B £30) (C £28) (D £15) Over 65’s/Under 23’s £26 (B £24) (C £22) (D £10) Under 18’s £12 (B £12) (C £12) (D £10) Under 12’s £10 (all categories).
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3. East Stand Upper Tier: Adults £35 (B £32) (C £30) (D £15) Over 65’s/Under 23’s £29 (B £26) (C £24) (D £10) Under 18’s £12 (B £12) (C £12) (D £10) Under 12’s £10 (all categories).
4. East Stand Lower Tier: Adults £32 (B £30) (C £28) (D £15) Over 65’s/Under 23’s £26 (B £24) (C £22) (D £10) Under 18’s £12 (B £12) (C £12) (D £10) Under 12’s £10 (all categories).
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5. North Stand Upper Tier: Adults £35 (B £32) (C £30) (D £15) Over 65’s/Under 23’s £29 (B £26) (C £24) (D £10) Under 18’s £12 (B £12) (C £12) (D £10) Under 12’s £10 (all categories).
6. North Stand Lower Tier: Adults £30 (B £28) (C £26) (D £15) Over 65’s/Under 23’s £24 (B £22) (C £20) (D £10) Under 18’s £12 (B £12) (C £12) (D £10) Under 12’s £10 (all categories).
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7. Family Area (North Stand Upper Tier): 1 Adult + 1 Under 18 £40 (B £35) (C £30) (D £25) 2 Adults + 2 Under 18’s £80 (B £70) (C £60) (D £50).

Away Fans

1. South Stand Upper Tier: Adults £35 (B £32) (C £30) (D £15) Over 65’s/Under 23’s £29 (B £26) (C £24) (D £10) Under 18’s £12 (B £12) (C £12) (D £10) Under 12’s £10 (all categories).
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2. South Stand Lower Tier: Adults £30 (B £28) (C £26) (D £15) Over 65’s/Under 23’s £24 (B £22) (C £20) (D £10) Under 18’s £12 (B £12) (C £12) (D £10) Under 12’s £10 (all categories).

How to get there?

Bolton is just to the West of Manchester, so it’s reasonably easy to reach by road or public transport. The stadium itself, however, is about a fifteen minute drive away from the city.

From The South M6 to Junction 21a, take eastbound M62 leaving at Junction 12. Follow signs for M61 (Bolton/Preston) and leave the M61 motorway at Junction 6. The ground is visible from this junction and is clearly sign posted.

From The North M6 to Junction 29 and take the M65 towards Blackburn. Leave the M65 at junction two and join the M61 towards Manchester. Leave the M61 at junction six. The ground is visible from this junction and is clearly signposted.

Because of traffic congestion on the M60 (formerly M62), caused by the Trafford Centre, those supporters travelling from the South should take the North directions above. It is about 10 miles further but can save 30 minutes and a lot of frustration!

Car Parking

There is a car park at the ground, but this costs £7 for cars (£12 for minbuses). Cars in the away section of the car park can be packed in like sardines, meaning that away fans leaving early can’t get a quick getaway as there are cars blocking them in. However a lot of the surrounding industrial estate units offer cheaper parking, usually around the £4-£5 mark. Some of these are located on either side of Lostock Lane.

From the M61, go past the stadium on your left, move into the right hand filter lane and turn right at the traffic lights into Lostock Lane. If you continue down Lostock Lane and take a left hand turn before to the Bromilow Arms, there is some street parking to be had at the bottom of this road. You can park at a factory unit on Cranfield Road, which is the first right off Lostock Lane. Its the first unit on the right as you enter Cranfield Road costs £3.50 and it’s staffed for the duration of the game.

Away fans are located in the South Stand, so it’s just a short walk back to your car. The official car parks seem to be well snarled up. It’s recommended parking just away from the ground if you want a quick getaway’

On the parking front, a handy little idea is to park at the Beehive pub which is on the roundabout (half a mile past the stadium coming from the motorway) where you pay £5 per car but you are able to redeem it against purchases at the bar. You should try the cajun chicken baguette there! To get to the Beehive leave the M61 at Junction 6 and drive down towards the stadium. Then continue straight on past the stadium and the Beehive pub is situated at the next roundabout, on Chorley New Road.

St Joseph’s school on Chorley New Road offers parking on matchdays at £4 per car. On reaching the roundabout with the Beehive pub, turn left and St Joseph’s School is on the left hand side after about 250 yards. There is a pathway from the school leading down to the stadium – allowing fairly rapid entrance and exit to and from the ground.

There is a park at the Brinsop Country Inn on the Chorley Road (A6), on the other side of the M61, which is about a 15 minute walk from the stadium. It costs £4 to park there, but the pub has good beer and reasonably priced food, with home and visiting fans mixing together. The big plus point is that you can easily get away after the game back onto the motorway with no problems.

Post Code for SAT NAV: BL6 6JW

Train

If you’re getting the train to Macron Stadium, head to Horwich Parkway station, just five minutes’ walk away. It opened in 1999, a couple of years after the stadium. Trains to Horwich Parkway include regular services that run between Preston and Manchester Piccadilly or Manchester Victoria. Manchester trains all run via Bolton. There are extra services from Bolton on match days, as well as hourly trains between Blackpool North and Manchester Airport. The journey time from Bolton to Horwich Parkway is eight minutes.

Bus

Bolton operate thirteen different buses from surrounding areas to the ground on match days. If bus is your preferred method of travel, therefore, you won’t struggle for options.

Car

From the North take the M6 and leave at Junction 30 onto the M61 then leave it at Junction 6 and follow the signs. From the South leave the M6 at Junction 21a and take the M62 until Junction 12 when you’ll get onto the M61. Leave that at Junction 6 and get onto the A6027, following the signs to the ground.

Taxi

If you jump a cab from the centre of Bolton to The Macron Stadium it will take about 15 minutes and cost around £20. Unsurprisingly you’ll pay more if it takes longer. That’s sort of how taxis tend to work.

Facilities

As you’d expect from a reasonably newly built stand, The Macron Stadium has reasonably good views from every seat in the house. Behind-the-scenes the concourses are probably best described as ‘functional’. There are good places to get something to eat and drink before and during the match, though, so you’ll almost certainly be able to get everything you might want.

Hospitality

Given that the club considers its ground to be one of the finest stadiums in Europe, it’s no surprise to see that there are a number of hospitality options. There are a number of hospitality lounges that you can take advantage of if you’re so inclined. Here are a couple of them:

• The Platinum Suite. Here you’ll enjoy a four-course meal before the game, cushioned seating on the halfway line, half-time and full-time refreshments and access to a pay bar.
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• The Wanderers Suite. The latest addition to the club’s hospitality options, The Wanderers Suite is located in The West Stand and offers an informal style, a sharing platter and dish of the day served at half-time, cushioned seating, on the halfway line and waitress services.
• The Lion of Vienna Suite. Here you’ll get a pre-match buffet to enjoy on unreserved tables, half-time refreshments, entertainment provided by a club host and special guests, access to a pay bar and cushioned seating in The Nat Lofthouse Stand.
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Private hire

Bolton Wanderers have their own hotel attached to The Macron Stadium, so there are plenty of private hire options there alone. The Bolton Whites Hotel can cater for gala dinners, exhibitions, corporate events or even boxing matches. With rooms like The Premier Suite as well as numerous executive boxes, there are spaces available for whatever you might need.

Pubs & Bars Near The Macron Stadium

The main pub for away fans is the Beehive, which is about a 10-15 minute walk away from the away turnstiles. It is a good sized pub that also serves food. You can also park your car there or in car parks close by (see below). The pub is normally very good in getting people served even if it is three deep at the bar as they have a lot of serving staff.

Another pub is the Barnstormers pub on Lostock Lane (from the M61, go past the stadium on your left, move into the right hand filter lane and turn right at the traffic lights into Lostock Lane, the pub is down on the right) which does admit away fans. There is also a mixture of street parking and paid parking (at some industrial units) in this area.

Otherwise alcohol is served within the ground, although for some games such as local derbies, the Club opt not to sell any. Alcohol available inside the ground includes; Worthington’s Bitter (£3.80 a pint), Coors Light Lager (£4 a pint), Stowford Press Cider (£4 a pint), Guinness (£4 a pint) Red or White Wine (£4.20 187ml bottle). In another good move then the Club allow your to pre-order and pay for your half time drinks, before the game has kicked off, through the purchase of tokens. Thus making it quicker to get your hands on your interval liquid refreshments.

There are a number of bars on the nearby Middlebrook Retail Park (the Macron Stadium is on the Middlebrook Retail estate). However most of these have bouncers on the doors that only admit home fans on production of a matchday or season ticket, There are though plenty of eating outlets on the Retail Park; KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway and a Bolton Wanderers themed McDonalds as well as several other themed restaurants.

The Macron Stadium Hotels

You can, of course, stay in Manchester if you don’t want to stay in Bolton, but you’ll have a longer journey on your hands if you do. Here are some of our preferred hotel options in Bolton itself.

1. The Bel Air Hotel – £50+. Address: 236 Wigan Lane, Wigan, WN1 2NU. About four miles from The Macron Stadium is The Bel Air Hotel. Located above a restaurant and bar, you’ll have plenty of food and drink options! There’s free parking here as well as free Wi-Fi.
2. Mercure Bolton Georgian House Hotel – £70+. Address: Manchester Road, Blackrod, Bolton, BL6 5RU. Just a mile from the ground is this delightful Georgian hotel with a restaurant, a bar, a full-service spa including an indoor pool and a health club. There are also ten meeting rooms and a garden.
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3. Shaw Hill Golf Resort & Spa Hotel – £100+. Address: Preston Road, Whittle-le-Woods, Chorley, PR6 7PP. A little further afield at about eight miles from the stadium, Shaw Hill Golf Resort & Spa Hotel does exactly what it says on the tin. There’s a golf course attached, a restaurant and bar, a full-service spa with an indoor pool and a health club as well as a conference centre and a garden.

History

For seventeen years the ground was known as The Reebok Stadium, so it might take a little while to get used to calling it The Macron Stadium. It was built to replace the club’s previous ground, Burnden Park, when it was decided that it would cost too much money to develop the ground to make it suitable for Premier League use.

As well as hosting Bolton Wanderers’ home games The Macron Stadium has also been used for England Under-21 international matches. It has also been used as the location for music concerts for artists such as Elton John, Coldplay and Oasis. Interestingly, footage from the Coldplay concert was used in the video for the band’s single ‘Fix You’.

Back in 2014 the club established a sixth form centre called ‘Bolton Wanderers Free School’. It offers sports related courses to students aged 16-19 and uses the facilities located in the ground for the teaching and learning methods.

Facts

Here are six things you might not have known about the home of the Wanderers.

1. The players emerge from separate tunnels. An unusual sight in modern football but the Macron uses two separate tunnels for both teams, each one going directly to and from the home and away dressing rooms. Situated either side of the dug-outs, the home players enter the field from the left-hand side of the bench, while Rovers’ will make their entrance from the right of the Nat Lofthouse Stand.
2. The Nat Lofthouse statue resides outside the ground. Unveiled on August 24, 2013 before a game versus Queens Park Rangers, the £100,000 bronze statue was made by Sean Hedges-Quinn, also responsible for similar statues of Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson. The 9ft tall clay sculpture was built to commemorate Wanderers’ most famous player, who died in 2011 aged 85. Lofthouse played over 500 times for the Trotters between 1946 and 1960, and netted 30 times for England from 33 games.
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3. There is a hotel attached to the stadium. As part of the construction of the stadium, the ‘Bolton White’s Hotel’ is fully integrated into the Macron. White’s was owned and operated by the De Vere Group until August 2013, when the club took control of it itself. It houses 125 rooms, some even with pitch-side views, meaning you’ll never be far from the action!
4. It also houses a sixth form. For only a temporary basis, the Macron also the location of Bolton Wanderers Free School. The sixth form was created by the club through the non-profit Eddie Davies Educational Trust and offers courses in the varieties of sport, business, public services and health care up to BTEC level three.
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5. It has occasionally welcomed rugby too. Merseyside-based Super League club St Helens have played three World Club Challenge matches in Bolton’s home. With the Saints’ Totally Wicked Stadium free to contain just 18,000 spectators, the Macron was a much more appealing option to due to its near-29,000 capacity. St Helens played against Brisbane Broncos (2001 and 2007) and Sydney Roosters (2003).
6. Fourth biggest stadium for the fourth-placed team. With an official capacity of 28,723, the Macron Stadium is currently the fourth biggest stadium in League One. It sits behind Sheffield United’s Brammall Lane, Coventry City’s Ricoh Arena and MK Dons’ Stadium:mk on the list.