I have been to watch two WSL matches (Arsenal in September and Chelsea in December) at the Select Car Leasing Stadium so far in the 2021/22 season. Things seemed the same on both of my visits but of course things might change and be different if you decide to visit this stadium.
Location and ground history
The stadium is located south of Reading, not far from junction 11 of the M4. The stadium opened in 1998 as the new home of Reading FC and it became the women’s side permanent home in 2020 after previously playing in Wycombe. London Irish rugby union team had shared the stadium from 2000 to 2020 and before that, Richmond rugby union team had played there from 1998 to 1999. It was known as the Madejski Stadium from opening until 2021 when Select Car Leasing started to sponsor it.
Getting there
Reading station is well served by trains from most of the country (way too many places to list). It is about 3 miles from the stadium and takes about an hour to walk or I have got the 6/6a bus (which runs frequently) to the Bennet Road stop and then it is about a 15 minute walk along Bennett Road and over a junction to the stadium. You can also get the Mereoak Park & Ride (600) to Reading Gate Retail Park and then it is a 5/10 minute walk to the stadium. A new station called Reading Green Park, on the line between Reading to Basingstoke line, is due to open in 2022 at somepoint and will be about a 20 minute walk from the ground. There is car parking available at the stadium but you need to buy a permit which costs £5 (you can buy this at same time as buying tickets online) and it does say that permits might not be available on the day of the match (advance parking permits go off sale 4 hours before kick off).
Tickets
I bought my ticket online which cost £10 for adults. It was the normal sign up with the club on the website then the ticket came as an attachment on the confirmation email which I printed off and scanned at the turnstile to get in. You can choose your seat when buying the ticket. Ticket prices increase online by £2 to matchday prices four hours before kick off. Tickets were also available to buy on the day of the game at matchday prices from the East ticket office which is at the back of the East Stand (along from the turnstiles where you go in) and the person I asked there said cash or card payment is accepted. There is also another ticket office by the fanstore.
Link for tickets-Buy Tickets: Reading FC Ticketing
The Stadium
The east side (Sir John Madejski Stand) is the only part of the ground open for the women’s matches. The turnstiles at gate 7 (around the back of the stadium) are the only ones that have been open and there was a quick bag search before going in. Once through the turnstiles you are in the concourse area which stretches the length of the stand and there are toilets in this area as well as the entrances into the stand. The stadium is a fully enclosed bowl of a stadium with a roof all the way around and has a capacity of 24,161 (all seats). It is single tired apart from the west side which has two tiers with some executive boxes between them. This side is also where tunnel and dugouts are and the press and tv camera position are at the top of it. There is a scoreboard at the top of the seats in one corner of the stadium.
Food & Drink
In the concourse area there were a couple of kiosks open where you could buy food and drinks. It was card payment only for these. Alcohol could only be consumed in the concourse area and not taken out to the seats. There is a McDonalds and KFC in the retail park next to the ground but not much else that close.
Merchandise
There is a free online programme which you can download from the Reading FC website. There is a fanstore in the north west corner of the ground and all kinds of Reading FC merchandise are available to buy from here.
Info from before the home match against Leicester in Jan 2022 and also where I got some info from-Reading FC | Royals’ Curtain Raiser for 2022
Paul's Football Page 