Elm Park (stadium)

Elm Park was a football stadium in the West Reading district of Reading, Berkshire, England. The stadium was the home of Reading Football Club from 1896 to 1998. In 1998 they moved to the new Madejski Stadium.

Elm Park
Elm Park in 1981
LocationReading, Berkshire, England
Coordinates51.4534°N 1.0026°W / 51.4534; -1.0026
OwnerReading
OperatorReading F.C.
Capacity~33,000 (historically)
14,800 (final)[1]
Record attendance33,042[2]
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Opened1896
Closed1998
Demolished1998
Tenants
Reading (1896–1998)

History
Supporters at a Reading match at Elm Park in 1913

In 1889, Reading were unable to continue playing at Coley Park as W B Monck (the local squire) no longer allowed football due to "rowdyism [by] the rougher elements".[3] With club membership exceeding 300 by the time the club went professional in 1895, Reading required a proper ground. A meeting the following year determined that funding would be difficult.[3] £20 was donated by J C Fidler, on the proviso that "no liquors were to be sold" on site.[3] The rest of the cost was financed through donations by wealthy supporters, as well as one large individual donation.[4] A former gravel pit in West Reading was identified as the site, and the area was leased from Councillor Jesse.[1]

The first game at Elm Park was held on 5 September 1896 between Reading and A Roston Bourke's XI. The visitors were a scratch team from Holloway College and thus not registered with the Football Association.[5] Reading were later fined £5 and suspended for playing against an unregistered team.[1] The away team was named after Arthur Roston Bourke, honorary secretary of the Referees' Association.[5][6] The match was abandoned due to torrential weather; Reading were leading 7–1 when the match ended.[5] £44 was taken on the gate, with an attendance of approximately 2,500.[4]

In 1908, the club's annual general meeting proposed moving to a new ground near Reading railway station. A board meeting the following year decided that the move would not be possible, as "there was no chance of a move to the ground near to the GWR railway stations due to the actions of the Great Western Railway".[5]

As a result of Reading's relegation to Division Four after the 1982–83 season, the club was threatened with a merger with Oxford United – a move which would have seen the closure of Elm Park.[7] The teams' merger and closure of the stadium was subsequently averted, and the following season saw Reading's promotion back to Division Three under the guidance of Ian Branfoot.[7]

The last competitive match played at Elm Park between Reading and Norwich City in May 1998

In January 1990, the Taylor Report made all-seater stadiums compulsory in the top two divisions of English football for the 1994-95 season. Reading were champions of Division Two in 1994, and were promoted to Division One. Reading became subject to the Taylor requirements, though converting Elm Park to an all-seater stadium would have been impractical.[5] Instead, a location in Smallmead (to the south of the town) was identified as the site for a new stadium.[5] The former council landfill site was bought for £1, with further conditions that the development of the stadium would include part-funding of the A33 relief road.[8] Expansion of the club's home would also allow alternative commercial ventures (particularly leisure facilities) and shared use with other teams (such as rugby union clubs Richmond and London Irish).[8] 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.[9] to a 57th-minute goal by a young Craig Bellamy.

Reading began the 1998–99 season at the Madejski Stadium, named after chairman John Madejski, who had taken over the club in 1991 and delivered the new stadium.[5]

Structure and facilities
Plan of Elm Park

Elm Park featured four stands:[2]

  • North ("Norfolk Road")
  • South ("Tilehurst Terrace" or "South Bank")
  • West ("Tilehurst End")
  • East ("Reading End" or "Town End")

The north (with a capacity of 4,000 seated) and south (6,000 standing) stands were covered;[5] the west and east stands were uncovered terraces.[2] The east stand was reserved for away supporters, as was a small section of the north stand.[10]

In 1920, the seats in the north stand were upholstered. At the same time, the railings on the south stand were moved forward 3 yards (2.7 m) to allow a further 2,500 spectators in the ground.[5]

The stadium's capacity was traditionally given as approximately 33,000, though changes implemented in the wake of the Taylor report meant that the capacity upon the ground's closure was approximately 14,800.[1]

Records

The ground's record attendance was in 1927, when 33,042 spectators watched Reading beat Brentford 1–0.[2][7] The lowest attendance was on 26 October 1938 when 801 people watched Reading play Watford in the Division 3 cup.[11]

Reading's greatest ticket revenue was on 27 January 1996, when the club hosted Manchester United in the fourth round of the 1995–96 FA Cup. Revenue from ticket sales totalled £110,741.[7]

Highest attendance

With the capacity previously far greater than the current capacity of the Madejski Stadium,[1] Elm Park has been the venue of Reading's highest attendances to date.[11] Reading's highest attendances at home have been:[11]

DateOpponentCompetitionAttendance
19 February 1927Brentford1926–27 FA Cup33,042
16 February 1935Arsenal1934–35 FA Cup30,621
26 January 1929The Wednesday1928–29 FA Cup29,248
24 September 1949Notts CountyDivision 3 South29,029
8 January 1927Manchester United1926–27 FA Cup28,918
12 January 1952Swansea Town1951–52 FA Cup28,129
8 March 1952Plymouth ArgyleDivision 3 South28,055
28 January 1928Leicester City1927–28 FA Cup27,243

Transport

Bus services between Reading town centre and Elm Park were operated by Reading Buses.[10] Reading West railway station was the closest railway station to the stadium,[10] though major services only stop at Reading railway station.

References
  1. Royals Record (2011a)
  2. van Eijden (2011)
  3. Yeo (1976, p. 192)
  4. Yeo (1976, p. 193)
  5. 1871 (2003)
  6. Davies & Carosi (2006)
  7. Reading Football Club (2011)
  8. Digby (2001, p. 46)
  9. Loader (1998)
  10. Hob Nob Anyone? (1998)
  11. Royals Record (2011b)

Sources
  • 1871 (2003), The Home Grounds of Reading FC, 1871 – The Ultimate Reading FC Website, archived from the original on 15 October 2012, retrieved 2 June 2011CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • Davies, Mal; Carosi, Julian (2006), 100 Years, Coventry, Warwickshire: Referees Association, archived from the original on 24 July 2011, retrieved 2 June 2011
  • Digby, Bob (2001), It's a World Thing, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0199134286, retrieved 2 June 2011
  • Hob Nob Anyone? (1998), Away Fans' Guide, Reading, Berkshire: Hob Nob Anyone?, retrieved 14 April 2012
  • Loader, Graham (1998), READING 0 Norwich City 1, Hob Nob Anyone?, retrieved 2 June 2011
  • Reading Football Club (2010), The History of Reading Football Club, Reading Football Club, archived from the original on 4 February 2010, retrieved 2 June 2011
  • Royals Record (2011a), Reading's Grounds, Royals Record, retrieved 3 June 2011
  • Royals Record (2011b), Record Attendances, Royals Record, retrieved 3 June 2011
  • van Eijden, Han (2011), Elm Park Reading, Old Football Grounds, archived from the original on 30 June 2009, retrieved 1 June 2011
  • Yeo, Stephen (1976), Religion and Voluntary Organisations in Crisis, Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Taylor and Francis, ISBN 0856640174, retrieved 1 June 2011
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