Burnden Park
Bolton (Burnden), Greater Manchester, England
Burnden Park, Bolton (Burnden), England — opened 11 September 1895 (as Bolton Wanderers FC's football ground), 11 rugby league games hosted, home of Swinton RLFC used it as a shared home venue 1985-1987; otherwise used mainly by Wigan RLFC and other clubs for one-off cup finals/semi-finals as a neutral prestige venue.
Sourcing caveat: Floodlight status could not be confirmed.
Ground facts
| Opened | 11 September 1895 (as Bolton Wanderers FC's football ground) (Rugby league use began much later, from 1985.) |
| Home club | Swinton RLFC used it as a shared home venue 1985-1987; otherwise used mainly by Wigan RLFC and other clubs for one-off cup finals/semi-finals as a neutral prestige venue |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 11 |
| Top recorded crowd | 21,144 |
| Capacity | Peak historical football capacity approx. 70,000; reduced to approx. 25,000 by the 1990s for safety reasons |
| World Club Challenge finals hosted | 5 |
| Floodlights installed | Not confirmed |
| Surface | Grass |
| First rugby league match | 23 January 1985 — Second Division: Swinton 14-8 Sheffield (1,438), a Swinton groundshare fixture |
| Years used | 1985–1992 |
| Location | Bolton (Burnden), Greater Manchester |
Name history
- Burnden Park — used throughout; no sponsor or alternate names found
Rugby league history
Bolton Wanderers FC's home ground from 1895, and the site of the 1946 Burnden Park disaster (an FA Cup quarter-final crowd crush that killed 33 and injured roughly 400, a major event in UK stadium-safety history, unrelated to rugby league). From the mid-1980s it hosted a run of prestige rugby league fixtures, including two John Player Special Trophy Finals and three Challenge Cup semi-finals, all won by Wigan. Bolton Wanderers left for the Reebok Stadium in 1997 and Burnden Park was demolished in 1999; the site is now an Asda supermarket and retail park.
Historic Test matches, Cup & Grand Finals hosted
- 10 Jan 1987 — John Player Special Trophy Final: Wigan 18-4 Warrington (21,144)
- 7 Jan 1989 — John Player Special Trophy Final: Wigan 12-6 Widnes (20,709)
- 12 Mar 1988 — Challenge Cup Semi-Final: Wigan 34-4 Salford (20,783)
- 23 Mar 1991 — Challenge Cup Semi-Final: Wigan 30-16 Oldham (19,057)
- 28 Mar 1992 — Challenge Cup Semi-Final: Wigan 71-10 Bradford Northern (18,027), Martin Offiah scoring 5 tries in this famous rout
Pre-dates the site's structured match-by-match records for these competitions, so listed here as sourced facts rather than linked match pages.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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