Royals Return Home

A positive piece on the excellent Reading FC blog and fansite The Tilehurst End caught the eye this week as it told the story of the return of Reading Women's return to the wider umbrella of RFC after a tumultous couple of years.

Home matches will once again be played at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, beginning with the visit of Fleet Town on Sunday 13 September at 2pm, with tickets priced at £8 for adults and free for under 16's.

Football for a Fiver at Reading FC

Affordable football at the Madejski Stadium has been a theme since I started writing this blog in the summer of 2013.

Not just the occasional reduction in ticket prices but a consistent package, £10 tickets (or less) for cup matches, free admission to Under-23 games at the ground and a ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ initiative that covers both home and away supporters.

It points to a level of stability behind the scenes (regardless of ownership) and an engagement with the fan base that many other clubs pay lip service to but still do not have.

This coming weekend, for example, supporters have been given the chance to buy tickets for the double-header against Sheffield Wednesday (on Saturday) and Barnsley (on Tuesday) at two for the price of one.

A record crowd also watched Reading FC Ladies at the Madejski recently.

And, for what the club have calculated will be their 500th match at the stadium, against Burton Albion on 23 December all tickets will cost £5 (or 500p) which is applicable to travelling Brewers as well.

Wembley Showdown For Reading & Huddersfield Town

The build-up to Bank Holiday Monday’s Championship Play-Off final between Reading & Huddersfield Town will inevitably focus on the potential financial windfall that is coming the way of the Wembley winners.

Various price-tags will be placed on the ‘richest game in the world’ (I've seen £170m in one report) and that will be the main thrust of the coverage, ahead of what promises to be quite an intriguing battle between the two teams and their respective managers, Jaap Stam at Reading and David Wagner of Huddersfield.

In terms of this blog and its focus, this is a meeting of two clubs who have featured heavily here and on our Twitter page.

With the Royals there has been a general theme of significantly reduced prices for home cup ties over the past few seasons and regular free admission to Under 23 games played at the Madejski Stadium.

Add into that their ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ pledge last summer, which saw away tickets capped at £20 and matching prices for home supporters in the Eamon Dolan Stand (with a £2 membership card) and some worthwhile extra touches on travel to and from the stadium.

Huddersfield, were the main story of last summer in terms of pricing after their decision to offer season tickets for £179 sparked a huge response from supporters.

Home matches this season have been played out in front of increased crowds and in a positive atmosphere helped, of course, by the success that Wagner has had in transforming his squad.

It's impossible to quantify whether the better attendances and upbeat vibe has won the Terriers any extra points on the pitch but the shrewdness of chairman Dean Hoyle in making the offer was that he could clearly see behind the scenes that Wagner was capable of doing something special and looked to add to the feel-good factor by subsidising season tickets from television revenues.

And many Huddersfield fans travelling to Wembley over the Bank Holiday Weekend will be doing so having snapped up £199 season tickets for 2017/18 when they could be watching Premier League football in West Yorkshire.

Three For Free Coming Up At The Madejski Stadium

A busy time for Reading FC both at first-team and Under 23 level and the Royals, who have always looked to get as many development team fixtures played at their main stadium as possible, are offering three chances to watch matches for free at the Madejski.

This coming Monday, 24th April at 7pm, sees a Premier League 2 clash against Leicester City and that is followed by the Premier League Cup semi-final against Norwich City on Sunday 30th April, kick-off 1pm.

The games are rounded off by the visit of Sunderland on Monday 8th May at 7pm. There is free admission and free parking for all three fixtures.

This time of year usually sees more Under 23 matches played at a club's main stadium as the weather improves sufficiently to risk playing more football on the hallowed turf.

Norwich City entertain Brighton this Monday (24th April) at Carrow Road and tickets are free for the 7pm kick-off.

On Monday 8th May Arsenal take on Manchester United in Premier League 2 with general sale tickets priced at £4 Adults and £2 Concessions (Under 16's and Over 65's). These must be purchased in advance and are on sale until 3pm on the day of the game.

The official Premier League website has a list of all the remaining Under 23 matches in Premier League 2 but please check with the home club for any change of venue or kick-off time.

Positive Vibes As Reading Host Huddersfield Town

Another Saturday, another great occasion at the John Smith's Stadium as over 20,000 watched Huddersfield Town stay on top of the Championship with a 2-1 victory against Queens Park Rangers, a fourth successive home win for the Terriers in the league this season.

Chairman Dean Hoyle, having seen the progress that was made under head coach David Wagner last season, backed his belief in the relatively unknown (in this country) German by announcing in the summer that increased revenues from television money would be used to subsidise season ticket prices.

Adult tickets, priced at £179, flew out of the door and the scene was set for a season of good crowds at the John Smith's whatever happened on the pitch.

Results to date have been better than anyone could have expected and the whole thing looks to be taking on a life its own, success attracting more through the turnstiles and the Huddersfield players reveling in the atmosphere it is creating.

“We had unbelievable support which helped us play as strongly as we did and take the next step,” said Wagner after the QPR game.

An away trip to Reading is up next and if you are a Huddersfield Town season card holder then the cost of your ticket at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday afternoon is £20 for an adult with various reductions for different age groups.

That comes after the Royals took the decision in the summer to cap away prices and implement the 'twenty's plenty' initiative for supporters of away teams who are season ticket holders. These prices are matched for home supporters, with a £2 membership card, in the Eamon Dolan Stand.

The variation of away prices in the Championship has become a topic for discussion in the wake of the £30 cap introduced in the Premier League as it means a number of clubs now charge more than that for matches in the second-tier.

Next Saturday, for example, it is £36 for an adult ticket when Nottingham Forest head to Sheffield Wednesday and £35 for Ipswich fans off to Leeds United.

So, hats off to the Royals for their move. They have always been a club who have featured heavily on our pages with free admission to Under 21/23 games at the Madejski (such as the clash with Chelsea on Monday night, September 19th at 7:05pm) and with reduced prices for home cup ties at the stadium.

£10 Tickets as Reading Host West Brom in FA Cup

West Bromwich Albion, having just squeaked past Peterborough United on penalties in their FA Cup 4th Round replay on Wednesday night, visit Reading on Saturday 20th February in the last 16 of the famous old competition.

The Royals had already announced that ticket prices for whoever they hosted at the Madejski Stadium would be £10 Adults and £5 for all Concessions, the third time they have had those prices in place in the FA Cup this season.

The Baggies themselves charged a maximum of £10 for their home ties against Bristol City and Peterborough in Rounds Three and Four and a large travelling support will be making their way down to this one.

Just four days later, on Tuesday 23rd February, Reading host Rotherham United in the Championship and there are also reduced prices in place for this 'TFI Tuesday' fixture. It is £10 Adults, £5 Concessions (24 and under, 65 and over) and season ticket holders can take two friends to the game for free.

Free Football At The Madejski On Monday

Another one for half-term with free football at the Madejski Stadium on Monday night when Reading Under-21's host Norwich City.

Prior to the game there will also be a spooky Halloween signing session with some Royals' stars in the club shop at 5:30pm.

#RyansRoyals - Reduced Prices For A Special Day At Reading FC

Good times indeed at the Madejski Stadium as the Royals prepare for an historic FA Cup Semi-Final date with Arsenal in April and also prepare for a very special Community Day at their home league fixture against Blackburn one week before the trip to Wembley.

For the Rovers visit, on Saturday 11 April at 3pm, Reading will wear a special shirt that has been designed by 14-year-old supporter Ryan Duval as part of a project with The Avenue School.

Ticket prices have been reduced to £10 for Adults and £5 for Concessions which, combined with the feelgood factor of the cup run should ensure a sell-out crowd.

There's lots of information about the Community Project and #RyansRoyals on the official Reading FC website.