Madejski Stadium Capacity, Tickets, Seating Plan, Records, Location, Parking
Madejski Stadium is a football stadium in Reading. It is currently called Select Car Leasing Stadium because it is sponsored by that company. It is the home of Reading Football Club, which plays in the EFL Championship. It also provides the finish for the Reading Half Marathon.
It is an all-seater bowl stadium with a capacity of 24,161 and is located close to the M4 motorway. The West Stand contains the voco Reading Hotel, formerly known as the Millennium Madejski Hotel.
The stadium opened on 22 August 1998, replacing Elm Park as Reading’s home ground.
| Built In: | 22 August 1998 |
| Capacity: | 24,161 |
| Home Teams: | Reading |
| Ground Size: | 105m x 68m |
Madejski Stadium History
In January 1990, the Taylor Report made all-seater stadiums mandatory for the top two divisions of English football for the 1994-95 season. Having played in the second tier of the English league several times before, Reading was Division Two champions in 1994 and was promoted to Division One. Reading was made subject to Taylor’s requirements. Converting Elm Park into an all-seater stadium was not practical, so a location in Smallmead (south of the city) was identified as the site for a new stadium.
The location of a closed landfill, the site was bought for £1, on the condition that the team develop the A33 relief road. Construction of the new stadium, which was carried out by the Birse Group, was underway in 1997, and the last competitive game at Elm Park took place on 3 May 1998 against Norwich City, with Reading losing 1–0, having already been relegated. to Division Two.
Reading started the 1998-1999 season at the Madejski Stadium. It was inaugurated on 22 August 1998 when Luton Town were beaten 3-0 and Grant Brebner had the honour of scoring the first goal at the stadium.
Plans for the stadium were first made public about three years ago when Chairman John Madejski decided that Elm Park could not be turned into an all-seater stadium and that the stadium needed to be moved to a new location. Following the death of Academy Principal Eamonn Dolan in 2016, Reading announced that the North Stand would be renamed The Eamonn Dolan Stand.
In July 2021, at the start of the 150th anniversary season, it was announced that the Madejski Stadium had been rebranded as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for the next ten years. In honor of Sir John Madejski, the East Stand was renamed The Sir John Madejski Stand.
Stadium Capacity
Madejski Stadium has a seating capacity of 24,161.
Madejski Stadium Seating Plan
Madejski Seating Plan:
Notable Events & Records
The highest stadium attendance was 24,184 (apparently exceeding the stadium’s stated capacity) on 17 November 2012 for the Premier League match with Everton, surpassing the previous record of 24,160 set on September 16, 2012, for the Premier League match with Tottenham Hotspur. The highest attendance for a cup match at the stadium was 24,107 on 3 December 2003 for the Football League Cup match with Chelsea.
Upcoming Events
Not Yet.
Parking
Limited parking is available at the stadium itself for a cost of £10, but it can be a bit of a lengthy process to get out of the car park at the end of the game.
