Madejski Guide 2005/6

By BrianC
September 27 2005

Your guide to all things Madejski. How to get there, ticketing, where to sit, food and drink, the best local pubs and of course The Craic.

Getting there.

By car: The Madejski Stadium (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, such as for our Saint Patrick's weekend or Christmas games, and the car park starts to fill up, you won't be allowed in unless you have a pre-booked ticket. For big matches the queues on the motorway and other approach roads can be inordinate.

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 (£4) at the nearby speedway/greyhound stadium it is preferred by some because of the quicker getaway but we have in the past had 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, on 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 they exist. Even on a Sunday you will get ticketed or even towed away.

Public Transport: Reading railway station is about 3 miles north of the Madstad. It has a regular service from Paddington, and all points west. The bus station, adjacent to the station, offers a regular shuttle bus service to the stadium, £2.30 adults £1.15 children. They also do a family ticket for £5.50. 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. Taxis to/from town cost £12. On Sundays Reading buses run from the Engineers Arms to Reading Station at 10 and 54 minutes past the hour until 23.10. 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. If the need arises, the North and South stands will be opened. The Seats in the West, North and South stands are reserved: in the East they are unreserved. Regardless of what it says on your ticket you sit where you want, or can. The Madstad is a modern stadium. All the seats are comfortable and afford good views of the pitch.

London Irish Supporters congregate in both East and West stands, plus the others if they are open. In the East Stand the Eastiebeastie Drum Corps section can be found just above the disabled area, on the 22m line. If you want to sit beside or near them, enter through tunnels Y20 and Y21. If you do come to this area be prepared for a lot of noise.

In general 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. Most times the East Stand is busier than the West. For the past few seasons about two thirds of the supporters based themselves there.

Tickets for the West Stand are divided into two tiers. Upper costs £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 16s £5. You can book online at the Online Booking Service. Reservations can also be made by calling the hotline on 0870 999 1871 (Open Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, Saturday 8am to midday, Sunday 9am to 8pm) or visiting the ticket office at the stadium itself. On match days 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 we suggest you buy your ticket there.

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 have grown into it), and location (Edge of town retail/industrial area) 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 its supporters.

Some London Irish season ticket holders drink in JCs (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" which is situated exactly where you'd expect it to be situated. This is where our top rated 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 (£3.60 for a pint of the black stuff and £5 for a glass of wine last season), there is a bar within the hotel, The Millenium Madejski. Inside the stadium there are several bars which sell Guinness, Fosters, Courage Best, wine and soft drinks only and a number of food outlets. Reports are that whilst the service in these has improved somewhat in the last couple of seasons, with the arrival of the new catering company, it is still patchy. Certainly do not expect to be able to leave your seat at half time, buy something, and return in time for the start of the second half.

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 message board. 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.

On Saturday nights, be that before or after a game, Le Cheile, the band whom we know and love from the Craic in the Cowshed, play at O'Neills, which is also in Reading town centre.

From threads on the message board, the following suggestions have been made…....

Three Guineas: Right next to Reading Station. Much improved and more rugby friendly in recent years. Opens at 10am on match days. Meeting venue for Order Of Odd-shaped ball regulars.

Brewery Tap: Reading Center, opposite Sweeney & Todds, landlord Eddie is LI fan who played for us in amateur days. Only pub in center that shows our games when on Sky.

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, whilst it has improved somewhat in the past season, can best be described as uninspiring. On match days, outside the ground there are three stalls, which are run by the same company that owns the stadium catering franchise. Given the lack of competition the food comes at a premium price and shows little imagination. Inside the stadium things are, unsurprisingly, 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 lets down what is otherwise a very good stadium experience. Your trip to the Madstad should not be considered as a culinary one.

One innovation which was generally welcomed last season was a ‘Curry for a fiver’. This is sold from the upper bar in the hotel when that is not being used for hospitality.

Close to the stadium, heading into Reading, there is a retail park. This has a McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut. The Swan also does good 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 £70 including breakfast. You can also sometimes get deals here via 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 tell them you want the London Irish rate as you are making the booking.

Shop: The club shop is under the West stand. On match days about 60% of the retail space sells Reading FC merchandise. LI goods range from tasteful clothing to tasteless end of range stuff. Fortunately our club have put a lot of effort into merchandising recently and the more tacky/tasteless lines appear to be diminishing.