Reading come under fire after relocating away end to ‘help improve the home atmosphere’ for the 2023/24 season, in League One.
The Royals, who were relegated from the Championship, have announced that they will be moving where their visiting fans are based, from their South Stand into the upper corner of Select Car Leasing’s West Stand.
If Reading’s Upper West Corner sells out all the tickets for the next away team’s visit, there is still room to add more away fans in the South Stand where the ticket prices will be lower.
The Royals’ new approach has been criticised for its reasons. Read their statement below.
Next season, we plan to sell the south corner of the Upper West to away supporters to help @Club1871 expand for more fixtures and to help improve the home atmosphere at the Select Car Leasing Stadium 🏟
The reasons behind a change in location for travelling fans are all here 👇
— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) May 19, 2023
CLUB STATEMENT:
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!
– STATEMENT ENDS –
As mentioned, Reading come under fire after relocating the away end to ‘help improve the home atmosphere’…
@Kingsley_Royal: We are literally the worst club in Britain.
@Shaunfarmer04: Can you not get rid of 1871 altogether 🤷♂️
@rutt74: @OfficialPVFC so now they are going be charging us a lot more let’s do the same to them! Charge them £35 for adults!!!
@DebbieW43296905: Well you can keep your tickets. I will not be travelling. As usual sting the away fans. You are a league 1 club now. Should not be allowed to do this.
@IanL1972: Increasing revenue by charging them more only works if away fans don’t refuse to go due to the higher pricing.
@orodelancs: Let’s rip off away fans and what do you think other clubs will do when your fans visit 🙄 And visiting fans will most likely give your enthralling day out a miss 🙄🙄
@paulfinney1969: For any club to think like this is bad. For any club to say it out loud fecking hell that’s just insane. On a serious note in a cost of living crisis a club states it’s happy to fleece away fans. Not a good look.
@BennLCFC: Planning to charge away fans more is only gonna result in them charging you more in the return fixture so your only fucking your own fans over
@KevinShelbourn: In return hope you don’t mind us ripping off your fans at our place what a nasty eu curse of a football club you are. Ps won’t be attending a game at your ground
@TrevorSTFC: Wow. What a bunch of c**ts
@su4eranio: I think I will give it a miss. Love Derby away but happy to stay home with clubs that rinse fans “cos they can”. All that said, no more watching fans trip over that step in the aisle that must be oddly sized. Last visit must have seen a dozen fans stumble on it! 🤣
@tandwpod: Shit club. Terrible pointless club. Practically bust and now trying to rip off away fans. Get in the bin you twats.
@Chesney_1995: “We’re openly doing this to make a visit a worse experience and more expensive for away fans”
Real enticing offer that, guys
@JackWFC1234: Absolutely gross, this
@URZ_Janty: Scamming fans out of money all to cater for that drum 💀
@26Kenley: Not getting relegated would have improved the home atmosphere.
@CTFCLinda: Careful you don’t cut your nose to spite your face!!
@AlexHamWxm: Rip off. I won’t be going, I suggest others do the same.
@SteveyAsp: Scum my name and scum by nature…
@sbro161: Hope you’re investing that extra cash from away fans into making it a better away day. It is literally the worst away day I’ve ever been too. P.s fill the rest of the ground before you have the audacity to try and create better atmosphere. Royalist Virgins.
@oufcwestoxon76: Basically tin pot, charging away fans more, because they have overspent and they have a crap atmosphere
@mikeshipp1971: Won’t make a jot of difference when we visit, put us where you want, we’ll still outsing you #pup #pompey
@Readingfanman: Frustrating move as well that also means that our away fans when travelling will end up paying more from clubs who won’t reciprocate pricing as we’ve given up on twentys plenty to try and make an extra £4 a ticket
@dannybull7: Scumbags @ReadingFC, won’t be visiting. Hope @OfficialPVFC charge the same price to away fans visiting, pissed me off this has #pvfc
@WILLYHAHN71: Away ends in L1 are far less populated than the Championship. Not sure charging £30 to half the league that takes 300 or less away will make them rich.
@twovests: What an absolute disgrace by @ReadingFC! @EFL need to look at this.
@charliebeest: Weren’t they the ones who were the biggest advocates for ‘20’s plenty’ last season too?
@smee1966: Was looking forward to going to that fixture next season. Very likely I’ll boycott it now. Don’t particularly mind moving fans away to give a perceived advantage but to charge us extra is utter rip off.
@aw7794: Have a word @EFL with this shit state of a club, absolutely embarrassing. Soulless bowl in the championship. Will be even worse in league one #pufc
@Pandamonium1881: It’s really poor, but actually incredibly stupid to literally announce it like that
@TnsCov: Wow your owners really haven’t got a clue what they’re in for in league 1 do they just because you think people should want to come to a new ground doesn’t mean they will you’ll get some teams bring fans in the hundreds this would have made sense in the championship last season
@BelvoirRam: Laughable! You’ll still have 15,000 empty seats
@Goodo1977: Never been to Reading (A) and won’t be next Season either! Appalling Read! Leyton Orient is my new ground Next Campaign! UTI!
@andyhelson: Let’s hope that Lge 1 fans across the board refuse to pay for this. @ReadingFC disgrace
@joe_ntfc: Increasing ticket prices for away fans seems to be the biggest factor in this decision. Twenty’s plenty eh? #ntfc make adult prices £35 when they come to us…
@tom_mccormack: I’d expect every other club to match whatever price they are charging away fans for the visit of Reading. Make it one game a season for fans visiting Reading and every away game of the season for their fans going away. They’ll soon let their club know wha’s what!
@LukeRodhouse: So tragic 🤣🤣🤣
Prayers up for anyone with season tickets in G3 😬 pic.twitter.com/S00z0Z7CkL
— Cronesie (@Cronesie) May 19, 2023
Not sure this statement from Reading will endear them to L1 fans. Basically, ‘we can rip off travelling fans by giving them shittier seats’.
Hope nobody goes there now. pic.twitter.com/grcgRGvU6r
— The Stacey West (@Staceywestblog) May 20, 2023
It’s not that I’m taking issue with, that’s their choice. The ‘we can charge them more as well’ is what pissed me off
— The Stacey West (@Staceywestblog) May 20, 2023
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