Doncaster Rovers official website previews this weekends game against the Royals.
Get Away: Reading
Venue: The Madejski Stadium
Capacity: 24,200
Address: The Madejski Stadium, Bennett Road, Reading, RG2 0FL
Main Telephone Number: 0118 968 1100
www.readingfc.co.ukOfficial Website:
Date: Saturday 19th October 2013, K.O. 3:00pm
Sat Nav Postcode: RG2 0FL
Weather Forecast: Mostly cloudy with showers. Max temp 16
Last Visit:
The last time Rovers travelled to The Madejski Stadium was on 17th September 2011 in a Championship encounter where Reading ran out 2-0 winners. A seven minute spell did the damage for Doncaster Rovers, as two quick-fire goals secured the points for The Royals. Simon Church opened the scoring on 52 minutes, before Adam Le Fondre doubled the advantage on 59 minutes.
Team News
Rovers have no new injury problems ahead of the game with both Reece Wabara and Paul Quinn recovered from knocks. Marc De Val played 45 mins in the reserve game and will be added to the squad that travels but is unlikely to feature. Development player striker Alex Peterson added to squad.
Stadium History
Reading moved to The Madejski Stadium in 1998, after spending 102 years at their former home of Elm Park.
The stadium is reasonably big and is totally enclosed, with all four corners being occupied. Three sides are single tiered, whilst on one side the West (Main) Stand is two tiered, including a row of executive boxes. This stand has a curve in its roof and the team dug outs are located in front. Unlike the West Stand, the others stands have a more conventional look and feel. The ground has been designed with the supporter in mind as the fans are housed very close to the pitch and the acoustics are very good, which will please Rovers fans.The stadium also has a video screen in the South East corner. The stadium is named after Reading's chairman John Madejski. London Irish Rugby Club also plays their home games at The Madejski Stadium. Reading have recently received planning permission, which allows them to expand the stadium to a capacity of 38,000. This will take approximately three years to complete.
Away Fans
Away fans are located in one end of the stadium, in the South Stand, where up to 4,300 visiting supporters can be accommodated. The facilities in this stand are good with plenty of leg room and the views of the pitch are superb, as there is good height between rows. Away fans can really make some noise in this stand. The atmosphere is also boosted by a drummer in the home section. Entrance to the stadium is provided by electronic ticket readers as opposed to the more conventional approach.
Where to Drink
There are no pubs as such near to the stadium. There is a Holiday Inn which was around a 15 minute walk away. The hotel has a small bar inside it, but then attached is a larger Irish themed separate bar area, called Callaghans. This bar has Sky Television, but can become very crowded with away fans and served drinks at reasonably high prices. Across the road from the hotel is a very good fish & chip shop. To find this hotel, leave the M4 at Junction 11 and take the A33 towards Reading, turn right at the first roundabout into Imperial Way. Go down this road and you will come to the hotel on your left. You can also park there at a cost of £7 per car. There is also street parking to be found in this area.
There is another pub reasonably close to the Holiday Inn. Passing the Holiday Inn on your left, turn onto Basingstoke Road and walk up over a hill to find a pub on the right called 'The World Turned Upside Down' This chain pub had a mixture of home and away fans and also was popular for food. From the pub it is around a 15 minute walk to the stadium.
Travelling by Car
If you are travelling along the M4 from the west you can see the stadium on your left. Leave the M4 at Junction 11, bear left on to the A33 relief road which leads you directly to the stadium. The Madejski Complex is well signposted from Junction 11.
Please note that it is worth advising away fans that getting off the M4 at Junction 11, westbound can be a bit of a pain. On match days a long tail back can start on the motorway as far as one mile away from this junction. This should be approached with caution and patience. As kick off approaches it can take 40 minutes to complete the journey from the back of the Junction 11 queue to the designated parking sites. Please allow extra time for your journey.
There is some limited parking available at the stadium itself for a cost of £10, but it can be a bit of lengthy process to get out of the car park at the end of the game. You can also park on the site of the now demolished greyhound track, close to the stadium,. From the M4 at Junction 11 take the A33 towards Reading town centre. Follow the dual carriageway past the stadium and McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut outlets, and then look for the 'Alternative Parking' signs ahead. On the left you will reach a small slip road into the parking site (which incidentally is an official stadium car park). It has 500 spaces and costs £8 to park there. It is stewarded and has the advantage of a quick post-match exit either back to J11 or towards Reading. The car park is a 5-10 minute walk away from the ground.
Travelling by Train/Supertram
Reading railway station is situated just over three miles away from the Madejski Stadium. Probably the easiest way to get to the ground is to catch the F1 'Football Special' bus, which leaves just down from the nearby bus station, commencing at 1pm for Saturday afternoon games. As you come out of the main station entrance go straight ahead and after a short distance turn right into Garrard Street (this is a small side road that normally contains taxis waiting to move off to the railway station). The bus station is down the end of this road on the right.
Can't get to the game?
Rovers Player will be broadcasting Live audio commentary of the Royals v Rovers.
Glen & Chris will be on air from 2.45pm live from the Madejski Stadium.
Subscribe to Rovers Player can experience all of the below from just 10p per day.
• TV News
• Exclusive Manager and Player Interviews
• Full Match Replays
• Extended Match Highlights
• Live Audio Commentary