Upper West corner to host away fans in 2023-24

Ahead of releasing Season Ticket details for 2023-24, we wrote to a small number of valued supporters with their Season Tickets situated in the south-west corner of the Upper West Stand to personally inform them of proposed plans to relocate the away fan allocation within the stadium bowl.

Having spoken directly with all the fans concerned, the club can now confirm that we intend to utilise the Upper West corner on the south side of the stadium to accommodate visiting supporters in 2023-24.

Why?

The rationale behind the proposal is primarily to improve the home atmosphere by moving visiting supporters further away from the goal and the pitch and extending it into the Upper West.

By selling the Upper West allocation to visiting clubs ahead of their allocation of South Stand seats, for most matches Club 1871 will be able to expand as it did for our final home fixture of the season against Wigan – migrating a little towards the area directly behind the South Stand goal thanks to a reduced level of segregation netting.

That also means that for most cup matches, with an increase in availabile allocation for away fans, Club 1871 will not needs to move. However, for any highest demand cup games at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, the away allocation will still require Club 1871 supporters to move.

Away fans will also be located further away from the pitch, giving us more opportunity to capitalise on home advantage given to us by our vocal supporters behind the goal.

Extending the visiting supporter section to the Upper West also enables the club to charge a small proportion of away fans a higher ticket price than we are currently able to. Regulations mean we are obligated to offer visiting supporters the same price as our home fans when they are located within the same stand - but this change will mean we can charge a section of away supporters the Upper West matchday ticket price and increase revenue from visiting fans whilst keeping our Club 1871 prices as affordable as possible.

This move also means that, by giving us the ability to increase the potential visiting supporter allocation within the stadium for the high demand fixtures, we will not need to apply any prohibitive sales criteria for home areas as often – allowing the club to encourage more first-time fans into the stadium for more matches at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

All supporters whose Season Ticket has needed relocating for 2023-24 were directly consulted before any proposals were put in front of and subsequently approved by the Safety Advisory Group – and those fans affected have been relocated to a new seat in a suitable section of the stadium of their choosing. However, if any supporter has any further questions about this change for 2023-24, please feel free to contact our sales team in the Ticket Office on sales@readingfc.co.uk or by calling 0118 968 1313.

So now, more so than ever, we call on Royals fans to back the boys and make some noise as we begin to mount a challenge for a quick return to the second tier next season!