By BrianC
November 13 2003

Madejski Guide 2003/4

Getting there.

By car: The Madstad is just to the north of Junction 11 of the M4 on the A33, it is signposted (and can be seen) from the motorway. Parking is a fiver but be warned, if the match is expected to have a high attendance and the car park starts to fill up, you won't be allowed in unless you have a pre-booked ticket. 

An alternative is the HP car park, across the road from the Stadium. This also costs a fiver but is preferred by some as, after the game, it enables a quicker escape to the M4 than the stadium car parks. There is a cheaper car park (£3) at the nearby speedway stadium but we have had several reports of cars being vandalised whilst parked there. 

If you don't mind a walk, you can park without charge at Three Mile Cross. This is the other side of the motorway and home of one of our favourite pubs, The Swan (See below). This is approximately a 30 minute walk from the stadium. 

Do not attempt to park in local residential areas, grass verges, etc. Since Reading FC's promotion to, and success in, the first division Reading Council have introduced parking regulations to prohibit this. These are not always apparent but are there. Even on a Sunday you will get ticketed or even towed away.

Public Transport: Reading railway station is about 5 miles north of the Madstad. It has a regular service from Paddington, and all points west. The bus station is adjacent to this. From here there is a regular shuttle bus service to the stadium, £2 adults £1 children. They also do a family ticket for £5. On Sundays the last bus officially leaves the stadium at 6.30 p.m., although we have had reports that they run after this. This does not allow much time for post match craic. Taxi's to/from town cost £12. On Sunday's Reading busses run at 10 and 54 minutes past the hour until 23.10 from the Engineers Arms to Reading Station, the stops are marked on the map below. Please however bear in mind that even God doesn't know with absolute certainty what Reading Buses are going to do on a Sunday.

Seating & Tickets

On match days, the West and East stands are both open. Very occasionally, if the need arises, the North and South stands will be opened. The Seats in the West stand are reserved, in all others they are unreserved. The Madstad is a modern stadium, all the seats are comfortable and afford good views of the pitch.

London Irish Supporters congregate in both stands. There is a posse of the Supporters Club contingent, derived from our time at Sunbury,  that occupy the space in the lower West Stand directly over the players tunnel, an area referred to as 'Peter's Patch'. In the East Stand the Eastiebeastie Drum Corps section can be found just above the disabled area, on the 22m line. Enter through tunnels Y19 and Y20. If you do come to this area be prepared for a lot of noise.... and fun.

Most away fans seem to prefer the East stand as the unreserved seating allows them to gather together more easily. Indeed a good number of London Irish Season ticket holders prefer the East Stand both for this reason and the fact that it gives you a better opportunity to banter with opposition supporters. In general the East Stand is busier than the West, last season about two thirds of the supporters based themselves there.

Tickets for the West Stand are divided into two tiers. Upper cost £25, lower £20. Nobody has been able to explain the premium price that Upper commands. Unreserved East Stand tickets cost £18. Senior Citizens and Student tickets cost £10, under 16's £5. On all tickets you can save £2 by booking in advance, online only, at the Reading FC Online Booking Service. Otherwise reservations can be made by calling the hotline on 0118 968 1000 (Open Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, Saturday 8am to midday, Sunday 9am to 8pm) or visiting the ticket office at the stadium itself. There are ticket offices at both the East and West stands. The West stand office is always busier so if you want to go into the East stand buy your ticket there.

There are conflicting reports about the efficiency of the ticket line. Some experience no problems, others have found the line going dead or have found their calls transferred to an operator at a call centre in Wembley who has never heard of rugby, let alone London Irish. 

Craic & Drinking

Craic (Pronounced 'crack') is an Irish word for which there is no close translation in English. It means having a good time, enjoying the company of others, friendship, fun and a lot more besides. For those of you reading this who have not yet experienced a visit to London Irish I cannot stress enough the importance of this aspect of our being. Indeed it is for this reason that many visiting supporters regard LI as their second favourite club. 

Given the size, (We initially thought it was too big but are growing into it), and location (In the middle of nowhere) of the Madstad it is remarkable that we have managed to make the place welcoming, but we have. Hospitality to visitors and enjoyment of 'More than 80 minutes of rugby' has long been fundamental to the ethos of the club and it's supporters.

Many London Irish season ticket holders drink in JC’s (Officially called the Jazz Café) which is situated within the Madejski complex. If you want to join them, you have to get a season ticket holder to sign you in. There is also the North Stand Bar, commonly referred to as "The Cowshed" (or "The Postmodernist Cowshed" if you prefer), which is situated exactly where you'd expect it to be situated. This is where our top rate band, Le Cheile, play both before and after games. It has also become a habit for many of the regulars from this site to hang out at the rear of this bar after games.

For those wishing more comfort and who are prepared to pay the prices (£3.30 for a pint of the black stuff last season), there is a bar within the hotel, The Millenium Madejski. Inside the stadium there are several poorly stocked (Guinness, lager and soft drinks only) and staffed bars and food outlets. In the 2001/2 season, if you left your seat 5 minutes before half time you stood a 50% chance of being served and getting back to your seat in time for the second half. Last season it was even worse. Yet again the catering franchise has changed this season, we wait to see if things improve any.

Many of us drink at the Swan in Three Mile Cross (see map). As well as being a thoroughly decent and friendly pub it is the home of Jumbo the wolfhound, LI's mascot. From here it takes about half an hour to walk to the stadium.

The main LI pub in the centre of Reading is the Allied Arms this is owned by Steve Rolls, a long standing LI supporter known as Reading_Glasses on the messageboard. There are various items of LI memorabilia around the pub and any LI supporter is guaranteed a warm welcome. This pub has the added advantage on match days of having a stop for the Madejski Shuttle Bus directly over the road. Not only that but it is the stop directly before the station so you step onto an almost empty bus and get a seat before it fills up.

The Claddagh Ring at the junction of Pell Street and Elgar road is only about five minutes from the Stadium. I have not yet had a chance to visit here, however from what I understand, rather than being an Irish pub in the way of the theme pubs that are all over the place, it is better explained as a pub that is is thoroughly and honestly Irish. 

From a thread on the messageboard in July 2002, the following suggestions were also made…....

Callaghan's: Near Compaq car park and does £1-a-pint sometimes.

Engineer's Arms: (Whitley Wood)... Kevlar and Oozis are mandatory.

Scruffy Murphy's: (Right out of station) ... preferred by Paddy69 when coming on the train.

Hobgoblin: (opposite entrance to Oracle) ... good old fashioned bar with real beer in it - johnny_c

The Butler: (7 to 10 mins walk from the stn) ... Reading's best pub according to anthonyc_li

The Battle Inn: (Oxford Road) ... Reading's best Irish pub according to the Battle Inn.

Iguana (town centre): Long Island Ice Tea, anyone?

Pavlov's: Not bad for a town centre pub.

Purple Turtle: You ain't seen me, roight?

Wishing Well: (near Reading West stn) ... a real Irish pub with Irish horse racing on the telly on Sundays - anthonyc_li.

Rose & Thistle: (100m from Oxford Road) ... being taken over by Brummies.

The Pondhouse: (Tilehurst end of Oxford Road) ... bowlingo and a bit of roughness at the weekends.

General

Eating: Hotel aside, the catering at the Madejski is quite frankly abysmal. On match days, outside the ground there are two stalls, which appear to be from the same company, selling the same things. Tasteless burgers and sausages that contain so little meat they could almost pass as vegetarian if they didn't taste so horrible. Chips that are normally undercooked and dripping in oil. All these can be yours at a premium price because there is no competition. No pork rolls, no crepes, no pizzas, no imagination. Inside the stadium things are not any better. If you are lucky you might manage to find an over-priced, stale sandwich. The whole catering set up is managed by the Madejski cartel and badly lets down what is otherwise a very good stadium experience. Your trip to the Madstad should not be considered as a culinary one. 

Close to the stadium, heading into Reading, there is a retail park. This has a McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut. The Swan also does reasonable pub grub prior to a game.

Hotel: For those travelling some distance or who wish to take their drinking seriously the Millenium Madejski Hotel is an upmarket, 4 star, establishment within the stadium complex. LI have a deal here whereby on match days you can stay for £60 including breakfast. You can also sometimes get deals here, such as £40 room only, via www.lastminute.com. The hotel has two restaurants, Cilantro & Le Café, the former is excellent if pricey.  To get the LI rate, call them on 0118 925 3500, ask for reservations then then tell them you want the London Irish rate as you are making the booking.

Shop: The club shop is under the West stand, about 50% of the retail space sells Reading FC merchandise. LI goods range from tasteful clothing to tasteless lampshades. On match days the club information desk is also located in here.

Supporters Club Booths: These are under the East and West stands, look for the bookmakers stall.  Here you can meet friends old and new; book away travel; join or renew your membership and purchase authentic supporters' club merchandise. So pop along and feel free to introduce yourself here at any time. If you are brave enough you are sure to be invited to meet some 'usual suspects'.

Map

This map still shows the 'HP' car park mentioned above as the 'Compaq' car park. Such is the world of multinational mergers and your editorial teams inability to keep up with them. One day perhaps one of us, or someone out there will get round to the job. Any contribution would be welcome.