Bolton hotel rooms fully booked for Rangers' Uefa Cup Final (From The Bolton News)

Bolton hotel rooms fully booked for Rangers' Uefa Cup Final

8:36pm Thursday 8th May 2008 in

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BOLTON is about to go football crazy as thousands of fans flock to the borough in search of a hotel room ahead of the Uefa Cup Final.

Town centre hotels are already booked up with frantic Glasgow Rangers fans desperately seeking somewhere to stay before the big game next Wednesday.

Up to 100,000 Scottish fans are expected to descend on Manchester for the game against Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday.

But with hotels in Manchester selling out quickly and charging up to £600 for a room that night, fans are seeking accommodation at hotels in Bolton.

And those who have left it to the last minute will be disappointed as many Bolton hotels are already fully booked and in some cases over booked.

A spokesman for the Holiday Inn in Higher Bridge Street, Bolton, said: "As soon as Rangers were through to the final we were booked up within a few hours.

"We have been charging £200 for the Wednesday night, twice the normal room rate and putting restrictions so people book more than one night.

"We have a list of alternative Holiday Inn hotels in the area and those within a 45 mile radius of Manchester are fully booked."

A spokesman for the Ramada Jarvis in Manchester Road, Blackrod, said: "We are accidentally over booked by about 30 people and we cannot find anywhere in Bolton that can take these extra people."

Linda O'Connor, from the De Vere Whites Hotel, said: "We are already full with in house events but we have noticed an increase in inquiries around those dates.

"A lot of hotels are cashing in on it and have put their prices up. We know some in Manchester are charging up to £600 a night."

The game is being played at the City of Manchester Stadium and Rangers have only been allocated 13,000 tickets.

It has been confirmed that big screens will be placed in Albert Square and Piccadilly Gardens for fans to watch the match.

Cllr Ebrahim Adia, Bolton Council's executive member for development, said: "The UEFA Cup final is expected to have an economic impact of around £5 million to Greater Manchester.

"A quick search on visitbolton.com shows that the majority of accommodation businesses in Bolton are full for the night of the final. Hotels have confirmed that this is football business with the guests coming from Glasgow.

"As well as local accommodation providers, restaurants, bars, takeaways and public transport providers in Bolton will see additional business as it is ideally located at just 20 minutes from Manchester city centre."