SMART-SUITED and bespectacled, Paul Fletcher sits comfortably and confidently behind his desk knowing he has just pulled off one of the biggest sponsorship deals of its kind.

Neither Bolton Wanderers nor Reebok will confirm the figures but the word is that the sportswear giant is paying £2 million over a 10-year period to put its name to the spectacular new stadium at Horwich.

It's the biggest naming rights contract in British sport, eclipsing previous deals between Middlesbrough and Cellnet, Foster's sponsorship of The Oval and the partnership Fletcher struck at Huddersfield when he supervised the building of the McAlpine Stadium.

But the Chief Executive of what we now refer to as the Reebok Stadium refuses to rest on his laurels.

He's currently working on multi-million pound catering contracts and this week took a major step towards attracting some of the world's biggest rock bands to Horwich when he gave the country's top rock promoter a tour of the stadium.

"He thought it was magnificent," Fletcher revealed.

"I wasn't surprised because I was involved in staging five big concerts at Huddersfield - REM (twice), Beautiful South, The Eagles and Bryan Adams, all 35,000 sell-outs - and I know what the promoters are looking for."

The Reebok Stadium's 25,000 football capacity will convert to 40,000 for concert purposes - and that's where Fletcher's experience comes in yet again.

"There are three types of pitch cover," he explains. "I've used them all and I know which is the best."

Football still comes first for Fletcher but he doesn't underestimate the value of the odd rock event and has included costings for an average 1 concerts per year in his financial projections.

"Concerts are just another aspect of the seven-day-a-week operation at the stadium," he explains. "But they are great for the town.

"All the hotels are full, all the restaurants are full, the garages do great business and so do the corner shops. Okay, a few people complained about the noise when we staged concerts at Huddersfield but even more complained that the noise wasn't loud enough because they were having parties in their gardens!"

For all his determination to strike the best deals for Wanderers, Fletcher prides himself in being a fair negotiator who puts reputation and relationships high on his list of business principles.

He says: "I'm quite straightforward in the way I operate. Fair deals, long term relationships and a determination to work things out that are of benefit to Bolton Wanderers and to the sponsors.

"There are a few get-rich-quick methods but I don't go in for them. My way doesn't always guarantee the best cash deal today but it's more profitable in the long term. I follow the same principles on a multi-million pound deal as I used to sell a £45 advertising board when I started out at Colne Dynamos.

"That's why I was delighted with the deal with Reebok for the naming rights. The company are fans of the club, we knew that, they were already our shirt sponsors, they have a respected name in sport and their colours were perfect - blue and white.

"It was the deal we wanted all along and, as it turned out, it was the best offer as well - the best of both worlds.

"And it's a real partnership with spin-offs for both parties. While we are using their name to market our stadium they are using our stadium to market their name.

"Reebok want to bring events of their own here. Their name and logo will feature in the seats on the top tier of the Nat Lofthouse Stand so, when they hold photo-shoots here, the stadium will appear in their publicity all over the world."

The smile rarely leaves Fletcher's face - a sure sign of the enjoyment and excitement of the job he has tackled with the same level of commitment that earned him so much respect as a centre-forward with Wanderers and Burnley.

He is proud of the stadium and the standard of its facilities that meet all the UEFA requirements ... and more besides. But he refuses to take any credit for its development.

"It has been funded and designed by the chairman Gordon Hargreaves and Graham Ball who have seen all the best stadiums around the world and literally pinched all the best ideas. The result is a combination of all the best.

"It's going to be a fantastic stadium and it will stand as a testimony to them and to the other directors who have worked so hard. They don't just turn up once a fortnight on match days to drink their gin and tonics. I've seen them leave meetings at midnight, totally drained, and they've been back at 8.30 the next morning to start all over again.

"We will soon see the results of their efforts in a stadium we can all be proud of.

"But we will never lose sight of the fact that football comes first. In the fullness of time the only thing that will really matter is how Bolton Wanderers perform on the pitch. The fact that all the fans will be sitting comfortably will be satisfying but people won't just come here to look at the stadium as they do now.

"Nevertheless, the only way we can compete with the other top clubs is to make sure that when football finishes at 6 o'clock on a Saturday other events take over to keep the money flowing in."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.