2018 England

The Madejski Stadium is found in Reading in the South East of England. It was opened on the 22^nd August 1998 and is owned by Premiership club Reading FC. It cost the club more than 50 million sterling to construct this stadium. The Madejski has a capacity of 24161, and was named after the current chairman of Reading FC, John Madejski. The site upon which the stadium was built is a former domestic waste dump. The pitch consists of synthetic fibres combined with natural grass, this alone cost around £750,000.

2018 World Cup in Reading?

Various music festivals have been held at the Madejski Stadium, like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blue, Elton John and McFly. As a result of the team’s entrance into the Premier League, with increasing revenue from ticket sales, Reading FC are proposing to increase the capacity of the stadium. An application was made on the 24^th January 2007 to extend the East, North and South stands. On the 24^th May of the same year, the club was granted permission to expand the stadium to 36900 seats. Work will be carried out mainly in the summers of 2008 and 2009.

The use of this stadium in the 2018 World Cup remains a possibility, but the expansion projects must first be carried out. Reading FC must also ensure that this expansion project is sustainable, meaning that the club must ensure that it remains in the Premiership and constantly fill up the stadium. With 10 years still to go before the 2018 World Cup, the club has plenty of time to prove that the Madejski Stadium can host big football events, possibly even giving it a try in European football.