Madejski Stadium

The Madejski is a football stadium located in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is the home of Reading Football Club playing in the Football League Championship. It also provides the finish for the Reading Half Marathon. The stadium is named after Reading's chairman Sir John Madejski. It is an all-seater bowl stadium with a capacity of 24,161 and is located close to the M4 motorway. It is built on the site of a former household waste dump and is surrounded by methane vents. The West Stand contains the Millennium Madejski Hotel.

In January 1990, the Taylor Report made all-seater stadiums compulsory in the top two divisions of English football for the 1994-95 season. Having played in the second tier of the English league several times before, Reading were champions of Division Two in 1994, and were promoted to Division One. Reading became subject to the Taylor requirements. Converting Elm Park to an all-seater stadium was not practical, so a location in Smallmead was identified as the site for a new stadium. The location of a closed landfill, the site was purchased for £1, on the condition that the team develop the A33 relief road. Construction of the new stadium was underway by 1997, and the last competitive match at Elm Park took place on 3 May 1998 against Norwich City, with Reading losing 1-0, having already been relegated to Division Two.

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