Opening in 1997, it was originally named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok. In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming rights deal with Italian sportswear company Macron.[5] It was renamed the University of Bolton Stadium in 2018.[6] From 1 July 2023 it became known as the Toughsheet Community Stadium.[7]
A hotel forms part of the stadium and some of the rooms offer views of the pitch.
History
University of Bolton Stadium is an all-seater stadium with a capacity of almost 29,000 and was completed in 1997, replacing the club's old ground, Burnden Park.
By the 1980s, Burnden Park, which at its peak had held up to 60,000 spectators, was becoming increasingly dilapidated, and a section of terracing was sold off for redevelopment as a supermarket to help pay off the club's rising debts. Bolton Wanderers had dropped into the Third Division in 1983 and later spent a season in the Fourth Division. In January 1990, the Taylor Report required all clubs in the first and second tiers of the English league to have an all-seater stadium by the 1994-95 season. Bolton were still in the Third Division at that stage, but were aiming for promotion - which was finally achieved in 1993. By that time, the club's owners had decided to relocate to a new all-seater stadium away from Burnden Park and, by 1995, had identified a location at Horwich as the preferred site of a new stadium.
View at night, February 2005
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 £25million (US$42.1 million).[8] The stadium is noted for its distinctive gabled architecture, first pioneered by the John Smith's Stadium.
The stadium consists of four stands: The Carrs Pasties (North) Stand at one end; the South Stand (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 on 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. That opposition lessened considerably after the stadium was built, as fans grew accustomed to the name and were bolstered by Reebok's status as a local company.[10]
The Macron branding was applied in July 2014, after the Bolton Wanderers club finalised a partnership with the large Italian sportswear brand. In April 2014, long-serving 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 had the option to extend at completion.[11]
When the deal with Macron came to an end in August 2018, the stadium was again renamed, this time as the University of Bolton Stadium.[12]
On 1 July 2023, the stadium name was changed to The Toughsheet Community Stadium; the deal is set to last for five years.[7]
Footballing firsts
Interior view prior to a Bolton v Arsenal match, February 2007
The first competitive – and Premier League – match at the stadium was a 0–0 draw between Bolton and Everton on Monday 1 September 1997.[13] Bolton's Gerry Taggart had a header that crossed the line wrongly ruled out, and the points it would have won would have saved Bolton from relegation at Everton's expense.[14]
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.[15]
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.[17]
Other events
Field and grandstands view, August 2005
The stadium has hosted concerts by Oasis,[18]Pink, Elton John, Coldplay, The Killers, Little Mix and Rod Stewart. The music video for Coldplay’s 2005 single Fix You uses footage filmed at their Horwich concerts. The track was performed twice on each night so enough footage could be captured.[19]
In March and April 2021, the stadium held Crown Court cases due to the large amount that had built up as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic whilst the actual Courts were closed.[23] In the same year it was a venue for COVID-19 vaccinations.[24]
In 2018, the stadium hosted the first ever double-header semi-finals of the Challenge Cup, repeated in 2019. [28]
Bolton Wanderers Free School
In 2014, the club established Bolton Wanderers Free School at the stadium. It was a sixth form centre offering sports and related courses for 16- to 19-year-olds, and utilised the facilities of the stadium for most of its teaching and learning. However, this closed in 2017 due to low pupil numbers which made it 'not financially viable'.[29]
Bolton Wanderers unveiled a bronze statue of their most famous player, Nat Lofthouse (1925–2011), 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 of the stadium and was officially revealed by club owner Eddie Davies in a special ceremony.
The stadium's West Stand lies about 200 metres from Horwich Parkway railway station situated between Lostock and Blackrod on the Manchester to Preston Line. Football specials operate to and from the station on matchdays. When the Wanderers play at home, bus services are laid on by the club from across the borough.[36]
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is a professional football club based in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. From 1895 to 1997, the club played at Burnden Park after moving from their original home at Pike's Lane. Since 1997, Bolton have played home matches at the University of Bolton Stadium. They have spent more seasons, 73, than any other club in the top-flight without winning the title.
Augustine Azuka Okocha, commonly known as Jay-Jay Okocha, is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He won 73 caps for the Nigeria national team between 1993 and 2006, scoring 14 goals, and was a member of three FIFA World Cup squads. He is regarded as one of the greatest football players from Africa.
Nathaniel Lofthouse was an English professional footballer who played as a forward for Bolton Wanderers for his entire career. He won 33 caps for England between 1950 and 1958, scoring 30 goals, with one of the highest goals-per-game ratios of any England player.
Burnden Park was the home of English football club Bolton Wanderers, who played home games there between 1895 and 1997. As well as hosting the 1901 FA Cup final replay, in 1946 it was the scene of one of the greatest disasters in English football, which became the subject of an L. S. Lowry painting. The stadium was demolished in 1999, two years after Bolton moved to Horwich and their new home at what was then called the Reebok Stadium.
John McGinlay is a Scottish football manager, former professional footballer and scout who is the club ambassador of Bolton Wanderers.
Guðni Bergsson is an Icelandic former professional footballer and former president of the Icelandic Football Association from 2017 to 2021.
Liam Michael Feeney-Howard is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scunthorpe United. He will become a free agent on 30 June 2023.
Jay Francis Spearing is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool, where he is also a coach at their academy.
The 2010–11 season was Bolton Wanderers's twelfth season in the Premier League, and their tenth consecutive season in the top-flight of English football.
The 2011–12 season was Bolton Wanderers's thirteenth season in the Premier League, and their eleventh consecutive season in the top-flight of English football. It is their third season with shirt sponsors 188BET.
The 2012–13 season was Bolton Wanderers first season in the Football League Championship since 2001 following their relegation from the Premier League. Bolton ultimately missed out on a play-off spot, being overtaken by Leicester City on the final day of the season, meaning Bolton spent the 2013–14 season in the Championship.
The history of Bolton Wanderers Football Club covers the period from its founding in 1874 up to the present. For a general overview of the club itself, see Bolton Wanderers F.C.
The 2013–14 season was Bolton Wanderers' second consecutive season in the Football League Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in 2012.
Conor Dominic Geoffrey Wilkinson is an English-born Irish footballer who plays as a striker for Motherwell.
The 2014–15 season was Bolton Wanderers's third consecutive season in the Football League Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in 2012.
Quade Gerald Taylor is an English footballer who plays for Carshalton Athletic
George Andrew Thomason is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League One side Bolton Wanderers.
References
↑ To check the stadium's full postal address, go to the Royal Mail address finder and type: BL6 6JW. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
↑ "Archived copy". www.bwfcbusiness.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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Horwich Parkway 
