Select Car Leasing Stadium

Elm Park had held the club since 1871, and the move to Bennett Road in 1998 marked the club's relocation. The opening fixture, a 3-0 win over Luton Town, came weeks before the formal ceremony, at which the Duchess of Gloucester performed the honours.

The pitch has had a harder history than the stands. A Desso Grassmaster hybrid surface went in during 2004 only to be torn out three years later over drainage problems, before the club settled on the SISGrass system now in use, which weaves synthetic fibres through the natural turf to keep it playable through a heavy fixture list.

Reading came close to outgrowing the place. The plan to push capacity well beyond its current size was left on paper due to relegation from the Premier League and the finances that followed. The naming has moved twice — Madejski Stadium for over two decades, honouring the chairman who built it, before Select Car Leasing took over the rights in 2021, with the East Stand still carrying Sir John Madejski's name.

Rugby shared the ground for years: London Irish played home fixtures here and set the venue's rugby attendance record in a 2008 derby against London Wasps, and the stadium hosted European Challenge Cup finals either side of that. Select Car Leasing Stadium has also doubled as a concert venue, drawing Elton John and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and marks the finish of the Reading Half Marathon each year.