Reading City never play games at home at the end of August each season, had you noticed?
The Cityzens – who play in the Combined Counties League Premier Division North and have a reserve side in the Thames Valley Premier League, as well as countless youth and junior teams – play out of The Rivermoor Stadium off Stadium Way in Reading, formerly known as Scours Lane.
You may also notice that a certain behemoth of a music festival with an estimated 100,000 attendees takes place in the Berkshire town over the same period of time. These two things are not connected.
Reading Festival takes over the Rivermoor
Every August toward the end of the month, Reading City’s ground is handed over to Festival Republic, the organisers of Reading & Leeds Festivals as part of the clubs tenancy agreement. The club is located on land utilised by the festival for its army of staff and volunteers.
A similar thing used to happen to Ascot United’s Racecourse Ground early in the season when it formed part of the Red Bull Air Race, although that event seems to have run its course for now.
Surely that’s going to ruin Reading City’s pitch?
We’re assured by those in the know at Reading City Football Club that all the efforts to improve drainage, not to mention what was traditionally a dust bowl at the end of the season, into a pitch more than capable of sustaining a season of football, does not go to waste.
The site the football club uses has several quite large areas of grass to the right of the pitch and at the far end where staff and volunteers camp. The club don’t go away empty handed either, opening for refreshments and breakfasts during the weekend.
It’s all then packed away and football returns to The Rivermoor for another year.
