A BID by bosses at Reebok Stadium to persuade megastars Bon Jovi to perform at the ground has failed.

They had hoped to attract the American rockers to build on the success of last July's two Oasis concerts which attracted more than 70,000 concert-goers.

But their summer tour dates reveal that Bolton's ground has lost out to venues including the home of another First Division club, Huddersfield Town's McAlpine Stadium.

The Huddersfield show on Wednesday, June 13, is the American rockers' only appearance in northern England, with their other British dates at Glasgow, Milton Keynes and Cardiff.

Losing off the field to the Yorkshire club will be a blow to Reebok chiefs who have consistently expressed their desire to turn the stadium into the North-west's premier concert venue.

Speaking after the Oasis gigs, commercial director Gareth Moores predicted: "This is just the start."

Wanderers representatives have even visited Wembley and Murrayfield to pick up tips from two of Britain's biggest concert venues.

Yet Simon Moran, the promoter behind last summer's two successful Oasis concerts, has already warned that the Wanderers ground could struggle to attract stars -- despite admiring the facilities.

He said: "There are a lot of these new football stadiums around now so it's a very competitive market."

The McAlpine Stadium has already hosted top acts including REM.

A spokesman for the Reebok Stadium declined to reveal whether any discussions were currently being conducted with big name acts.

Upbeat

But he remained upbeat about the ground's prospects of becoming part of the country's music landscape.

He said: "We are always looking at new possibilities but there's nothing to announce at the moment.

"The Oasis concert was a great day which we want to repeat as soon as possible."