Bolton Wanderers

We attended the game on Saturday, finding the ground was very easy and straight forward. On entering Gate A, the steward pointed to a disabled bay and told us to park there, it’s all away fans he told us, like heck was it, the Charlton lot were to the left by the turnstiles. I asked another steward about paying , and he said he didn’t know, I thinks it’s free!. Well it isn’t free, you have to register with the parking firm ” good2go” . It was a real pain to do this on the day , and no one seemed to be able to help us . I did read on the T&C that 1st time customers are free, so I am hoping I read it right.
The main stewards at the turnstiles were great, very helpful indeed, we were shown into the ground via big gates, the one and only disabled toilet had a short but steep ramp which was difficult to push a wheelchair up. The toilet was not the best as it smelt and had dirty ” stale” water, on the floor.
We were told we can site anywhere along the front of the stand from the corner flag to the middle of the goal, We got settled and then the rain started, luckily for us it was straight down, and covered a bit by the roof , but we still got wet, we weren’t offered any rain protection from the stewards like we have been at other grounds.
The view was good and the best part was we had the whole section to ourselves as it is only accessable to the disabled. Our main fans were actually just behind us and not up in the gods, ( as someone said before) so it made us feel part of it all.

Not sure where we could have gone for refreshments as we didn’t see anything at all! The steward didn’t offer to get us anything or help us if needed, ( again like other grounds ) but to be fair we didn’t ask. .
The Bolton tannoy system seriously needs looking at as it was so distorted we couldn’t understand a word that they were saying, it was worse than the British railway announcements..
I guess they racked it up so loud it made the home fans sound intimidating, But if they had to make a safety announcement we would have been stuffed, as I say we couldn’t understand a single word of what was said..
My wife even felt the vibration of the home drum through her wheelchair. So we guess that was amplified too.
Leaving the ground was very easy , the usual queues, but that’s to be expected.
Would we go again?. Yes,

I am a powerchair user and my husband is a white cane user. We attended as away fans, travelling to the game in an accessible minibus that is part of our Club’s official away travel. This was our second visit to the University of Bolton Stadium, our last one, 3 years ago is the subject of the previous LPF review on Bolton, so we will keep this review to an update on that one. So disappointed to report that our experience this time was much worse than 3 years ago!

Arrival and Entry to the Ground
Only difference from 3 years ago is that the car parks are cashless payments only. Our minibus driver was clearly told by a steward, to drop us off in front of our entrance gate, only to subsequently be told off by another for stopping where he was told to!

Seating Area for Disabled Fans
Provisions for wheelchair fans I believe have been negatively impacted by the decision that away fans must sit in the “seats in the sky” above the corporate boxes, as they pose too great a danger to be sat at pitch level. That means that wheelchair/scooter fans and their companions are completely isolated from all the other away fans, unable to see or speak to them. As I pointed out when I complained, if able bodied fans are considered too dangerous to have behind barriers at pitch level, then surely disabled fans and their companions pose an equal danger sat at pitch level and should be accommodated in the same area as the rest of the away fans. I could have easily entered the pitch in my powerchair, my chair is very heavy and can move fast, I could run over someone’s toes. Why are disabled fans and their companions perceived any different to able bodied fans? I was told that I could not be sat with the other away fans as there was no lift. I do wonder if stairs and no lift was made clear to all away fans buying tickets (we strongly suspect not)? I have heard away fans who have visited many, many grounds, over many years say they felt the steepness, height and relatively low barriers at the front of the area they were sat in made them worried about their own safety, particularly if the crowd had been larger and there had been a surge to the front at any time. I have also heard others say they/their children have hidden health conditions which would have made it impossible for them to sit in such a location and which they would not have wanted to explain to a steward who they feared may not have responded with understanding. Perhaps in view of these points the Safety Officer at Bolton would like to revisit their risk assessment in respect of away fans. Quite apart from risk matters, as much as I like the company of my fellow disabled fans, it is a pretty miserable experience to be one of just a handful at the away end at pitch level, cut off from all the other away fans. See photo. I wonder what response any Club would get if they isolated 6 able bodied fans from the rest of the away fans, would they accept the arrangement without complaint?

Audio Described Headset Match Commentary
Bolton’s website says this is available for away fans by emailing the DLO to reserve a headset, which is what we did only to receive an email back saying the system was not currently working. We then realised from reading our last LPF Review, the system was down when we visited in 2019, has it been constantly down for the past 4 years and if so, should the website say it is not available until such time it is? Otherwise, it seems a rather strange co-incidence that it just stops working for when we visit!

Catering
The only catering provisions available to away wheelchair/scooter users and their companions were either in the home stand or upstairs. I was told that the local McDonalds was not accessible to wheelchair fans and my fellow wheelchair fans were generally unimpressed with the options they had been offered when they had asked on arrival at the stadium about where they could get food. We were therefore grateful we had taken our own.

Accessible Toilet
Same as last time. Beware the very steep hill into it. Disappointed to have to wash my hands in cold water on a cold winter night as that is all I could get out of the tap. Only one accessible loo for the away and home wheelchair and scooter users. My firm belief is one accessible toilet is not sufficient as disabled people often take longer or need immediate access which is not accommodated well by a single toilet. My presumption is also that there was no accessible loo available to those away fans who were not seated at pitch level but who might well have conditions which mean they require such.

Stewards
The steward who met us at the entrance from the car park was friendly and welcoming. When I later spoke to a steward in an orange jacket (unnumbered but I believe was a supervisor) about the isolation of the away wheelchair fans, even though I was asking politely and calmly, he walked off whilst I was still speaking to him. When I went to the toilet, I had another go at expressing my concerns to a supervisor and got a totally different response from a lovely supervisor who immediately came down to my level and engaged in a constructive dialogue with me, agreeing with the points I was making and saying he would feed them back. It was therefore disappointing that towards the end of the game, a group of young stewards walked passed us, swearing very loudly in sentences using very industrial language (not at us but between themselves) sufficient for all 6 of us to look at one another in shock. We have never heard the like of this from stewards in the 80 grounds we have visited. Totally unnecessary and unprofessional. They are paid to represent their Club and this was not doing so in a way we would expect of paid staff. My recall is that it was 017 and 018 on the bottom backs of their jackets. For good measure we also had a female steward early in the game stopping to watch a corner having just walked past us and in doing so prevented us watching the corner.

Leaving the Stadium
No difficulties until we got to the car park then we had to find our way through cars that were coming at us from all angles. Whilst a helpful steward guided us between 2 cars, we then nearly got taken out by a third undertaking these 2. The distance we had to get to the minibus was not far but in the dark, with vehicle headlights on level with my eyes, it was dangerous without any clear walk ways and groups of stewards stood around chatting rather than assisting.

Overall
Disappointed to find that Bolton are now isolating away wheelchair/scooter users from the rest of the away fans and presuming that away fans if they are not wheelchair/scooter users can cope with seating that is very high up and steep with no lift access. Particularly disappointing as this was not so when we last visited 4 years ago.

I am a powerchair user and my husband is severely visually impaired. This was our first visit as away fans to the University of Bolton Stadium. We travelled to the ground in an accessible mini bus that is part of our Club’s official away travel.

Entry into the Stadium
Very convenient for getting to, just off the motorway and immediately visible. Don’t turn left in front of the stadium if you want the away end but carry straight on and the away end is signposted. We were able to park outside the away end entrance, large flat car park (no free parking for Blue Badge holders). We went in through a large gate just at the side of the away turn styles and went straight ahead to the inside of the stadium. There is a large retail park next to the stadium with a very large supermarket, eating places etc.

Wheelchair Viewing Area
We were sat pitch side behind the goal but were very impressed that it was a raised area and although we were sat in front of our fans and could turn round and talk to them, they were completely separated from us so they couldn’t stand in front of us or push into us at any time during the game as can happen at some locations. This arrangement also meant that we were not in any crowd getting out of the stadium at the end. The area where we were sat was sufficiently wide for two wheelchair users to pass without any problems and rather than having fixed carer seating it was foldable seats which could be placed any where you wanted them. We were behind the practice goal but there was a very high net behind it also, so we felt safer during the warm up than we usually do. Excellent view and no problem with people walking in front of us during the match.

Accessible Loo
Single loo on your right which you passed on the way into the stadium. No problems with size, clean, with hot water etc.

Stewards
Very friendly. We were greeted at the gate and escorted to our viewing area, as well as being given all relevant information about where things were that we might need and how to summon help if we needed that at any time. When I went to the loo, a steward opened the door for me and came to help when I was leaving rather than standing watching me struggle as happens all too often at grounds.

Refreshments
We always take our own so can’t comment on this, access to the refreshment area was close to the accessible loo.

Commentary for Visually Impaired Fans
Available but unfortunately we were told it was not working on the day of our visit. Unlike at most grounds you do not need to pre-book but simply ask a steward when you arrive.

Overall
Excellent. No hassle, as it should be. Definitely a good stadium for away wheelchair fans to visit. If you are someone who is nervous about going to away games, Bolton is definitely one for you in my experience of visiting around 60 grounds in the past 10 years.

Been to Bolton lots of times, always looked after very well. Wheelchair users are behind the goal at pitch level, got to keep your wits about you when teams are warming up and throughout the game as we are sitting ducks for the ball. The one and only toilet is on a slope hard to get in if you have a manual wheelchair, the toilet is a disgrace, mucky and cobwebs, looks like it’s not been cleaned, painted in years, no handtowels either that was before the game.

Yesterday I attended the Macron stadium with my parents to watch Middlesborough away at Bolton, I am a wheelchair user, but our original seats meant I would have to leave my wheelchair at the bottom of the south stand and climb up the steps to get to my seat. However a female steward at the south stand let me stay in my wheelchair at the bottom of the stand with my parents.

This meant I had a great view of the game, especially in the second half when Middlesborough scored two goals, had I stayed in my original seat.I would not have be able to see the goals as I am a small person and the away fans would have been standing up.

I would like to say thank you to the stewards at the stadium for being accommodating and letting me stay in my wheelchair.