Bolton Wanderers – The Reebok Stadium
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The Reebok Stadium, home to Bolton Wanderers and built by Birse Construction, opened in 1997 with a revolutionary “space age” design, is an all seater stadium, with a capacity approaching 29,000. Each of the stands has a rectangular lower tier, with a semi-circular upper tier. The ground is completely enclosed and has a large video screen in one corner, replaying match highlights.
An unusual feature of the Reebok is that the opposing teams emerge from separate tunnels located either side of the halfway line. Away fans are housed in the two-tiered South Stand. The lower tier of this stand is shared with home supporters, but away fans are allocated the entire upper tier, and can usually create a good atmosphere when full.
How to get to the Reebok Stadium
By Road:
Bolton’s Reebok Stadium is located in Burnden Way, Middlebrook Leisure & Retail Park, Bolton BL6 6JW, with easy access from motorways.
Drivers arriving from the North should exit the M6, taking the M65 towards Blackburn. Exit the M65 at junction 2, following the M61 towards Manchester. On exiting the M61, the Reebok Stadium can be seen, but is well signed nonetheless.
Away fans driving from the South should follow the M6 as far as junction 21a, following the eastward M62 as far as junction 12. Thereafter, follow the M61 and signage for Bolton / Preston. Exit the M61 at junction 6, from whence the stadium is visible and clearly signposted.
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By Rail:
The Reebok Stadium is situated 4 miles west of Bolton town centre. The closest train station is Horwich Parkway, within 400 yards of the ground. There are direct rail links to Manchester airport (a trip of about ¾ of an hour) and Manchester city centre (approximately 20 minutes). Click here to check the current train timetables
By Air:
The nearest airports are Manchester International (24 miles) and Liverpool John Lennon. Click here to check the current flight times
Taxis
There are several taxi companies in Bolton that can take you to and from the stadium. You can always prebook a private hire taxi, or hail a black cab on any highway.
Calling all Bolton Taxi Companies – Why not advertise your company here?.
Where to Park?
2000 free car parking spaces are available at the Reebok Stadium. However, reports from fans suggest that the away sections become vastly overcrowded, with many vehicles blocked in by other vehicles. Several industrial estates close to the ground offer reasonably priced parking.
A recommended idea is to park at the Beehive pub, about ½ a mile past the stadium. This can be reached by leaving the M61 at junction 6, heading for the stadium, but continuing past the ground to Chorley New Road. Free parking is offered for patrons of this away friendly pub.
Reebox Stadium Tours
Away Friendly Pubs near the Reebok Stadium
Most pubs in the immediate vicinity of the ground admit home fans only. However, the Middlebrook Retail Park has many food outlets, such as Burger King, KFC and a Bolton-themed McDonalds.
The Bromilow Arms is a recommended away friendly pub. It can be reached by passing the stadium on the left, and turning right into Lostock Lane, with The Bromilow Arms located on the left. It is reported to offer a good choice of real ales and food, along with a friendly “country style” atmosphere and a good mix of home and away fans.
The Barnstormers, in the same area, also welcomes away supporters, with a good atmosphere, real ales and decent food available.
Hotels near the Reebok Stadium
The 4-star De Vere Venues Whites Hotel, De Havilland Way, Horwich, BL6 6SF is fully integrated into Bolton’s Reebok Stadium, within easy reach of Manchester city centre and has attracted good reviews from visitors. Offering a combination of comfort, style and football, along with value for money, it offers free on-site parking for patrons.
The 4-star Holiday Inn Bolton Centre, 1 Higher Bridge St, Bolton, BL1 2EW has been refurbished in recent years, endeavouring to offer an informal yet sophisticated atmosphere. Located in the heart of Bolton, just over 4 miles from the Reebok, this hotel is easily accessed from the M61 and M62 and has attracted mostly positive reviews from guests. All rooms are air-conditioned, with free on-site parking available.
Click here to see all hotels near the Reebok Stadium
What have other Away Fans said about their trip to the Reebok Stadium?
Fans have found the Reebok Stadium easily accessible with the surrounding area appropriate for large numbers of people.
The majority of visiting fans have remarked upon the friendly atmosphere within the ground, with no feeling of intimidation, despite mixing with the home fans. The vast majority of away fans have been impressed by the looks of the Reebok and the quality of the seating. Refreshment facilities are reported as excellently organised, with barriers and exit lanes, though queues are unavoidably long at half-time.
Further downsides include overzealous stewards, who have been known to eject away fans from the ground for persistently standing during the game. Additionally, the rows of the South Stand lower tier which are closest to the pitch are not covered by the roof, leaving them open to the elements.
Bromilow Arms is highly recommended. Great ale, food, atmosphere and only a ten min walk to the ground.
I would add to the car parking issue at the Reebok
St Joseph’s school – about 250 yards away from the Beehive pub has supervised parking available for £4
The main benefit is easy access to the stadium and a rapid exit, rather than being sat in the stadium car park for hours!
The parking is a nightmare!!
The club carparkwas a fiver to use the last time I parked there. And took longer to exit than the match itself.
However if you park on the retail carpark (better at the far end away from the stadium) it should be fine.
Maybe put a bag form the shops on display in the car , makes the parking attendants think you shopping there.
Ive done it loads of times and never been ticketed or clamped.
Alternatively the surronding areas industrial estates are quite good for parking some that are just off the main roads charge 2 – 4 pounds , but if you go past these into the sites a lot of fans just park there for free.
Again never had any problems myself
Went to the Reebok in February where I saw the worst Everton performance of my life.
Travel to the game was easy enough. I live in Manchester so got the train from Oxford Road Station (where the fans coming from Liverpool changed), then changed at Bolton then onto Horwich Parkway.
The journey back, however, was an nightmare. For starters it was pouring down and we lost 2-0. Both sets of fans were on opposite sides of the road giving it loads to each other, but suprise suprise, the police only had a go at the Everton fans. The police refused to let any Everton fans onto the platform until the Bolton fans had left. When we finaly did get onto the train, a Police Officer forced us to move down to the other side of the train saying “Come on Scousers we don’t want you down here.”
Anyway, the stewards inside the ground weren’t too bad, and failed to notice me walk to my seat with 2 pints in my hands.
Ground is fairly impressive, I like the shape of it, and would be a top ground if it was larger.
Overall, good ground, bad result, terrible policing
I’ve been to the Reebok twice, January 2010 and April 2011. Parking is a nightmare. There is in official car park very near the stadium but there are always large queues and parking costs £6. As an alternative, the nearest train station is Horwich Parkway which is about a 5min walk to the ground. As for the ground itself, i must say i was impressed. The away fans are given both tiers in the south stand, which holds about 5000 fans. Stewards are very irritating, constantly telling fans off for even the slightest offences. One steward told us all to sit down, we got round this by singing ‘Stand up, if you hate Tottenham’. Overall a decent stadium, 7/10.
I took the train from my home in West Lancashire to this one and met my brother Steve and his son, Adam, who drove up from Norwich, at the ground. The train from Bolton to the Reebok is on the Blackpool line and is just two stops. We went for a pre-match pint at the Bee Hive pub which is about ten minutes walk up the road. There is a Premier Inn nearer to the ground but we were politely told by stewards it is reserved for home fans. The Bee Hive was fine with a decent pint and a pretty good all day breakfast for seven quid odd.
The Reebok is a great ground with a fine view all round. Bolton fans and staff are a friendly lot and we didn’t encounter a single problem. The crowning glory was Norwich’s first victory back in the premiership and we had a great day. Bolton’s fans were a bit muted but they were out-shouted and their team was outplayed. Happy days.
My brother had parked at the ground and it took nearly an hour to get away. Transport links to the Reebok might be fine but a little more thought ought to have been put into exiting the area.
Beautiful stadium with fine facilities housing thick home fans with very few brain cells. Every song they sang was aimed at us and I don’t even think they were watching the game. I saw home fans get kicked out as to which the supporters sang: “It’s just like watching The Bill”. This was the only song which was not directed at us. The funny thing was, their team was all over Charlton and we scored in added time to win the match 1-0! Not the most annoying fans I’ve encountered but definitely the dumbest but the stadium looked fantastic with a good view.