This weekend has rather a lot of significance beyond the match itself. After the end of this
season, Saturday’s opposition Brentford will leave their current home, Griffin Park, to move
into a new 17,000-seat stadium less than a mile away.
From the Bees’ point of view, upgrading their ground’s capacity by around 5,000 punters and
improving facilities makes a lot of financial sense. For Reading fans though, it’ll mean the
last trip to one of the most popular away grounds in the Royals calendar.
Since Reading returned to playing Brentford regularly soon after relegation from the Premier
League, Griffin Park has been a firm away fans’ favourite. After all, alongside Fulham’s
Craven Cottage and Queens Park Rangers’ Loftus Road, it’s one of the closer grounds for
Royals fans to get to.
It also has its own unique charm that only old, relatively run-down grounds can offer. Griffin
Park is cramped – you’ll be lucky to get to the toilet at half-time, squeezing past the other
thousands in the away end – and is relatively small with a capacity of around 12,000.
But it’s also got plenty of character. Griffin Park dates back to 1904, is one of the few
grounds in the higher divisions with an old-fashioned terrace, and also has the unique quirk
of being the only stadium in English league football with a pub on each corner. What better
offering for a football fan?
All in all, it’s a top away day, and highly regarded as such by fans across the division.
Reading are no different, and sell out each time we play there, regardless of how well or
poorly the team is doing at any particular time. Ignore the performances, ignore the form,
Brentford away is a chance to revel in a proper matchday atmosphere.
This season is no different, with tickets soon selling out after going on sale. The Reading
corner of Twitter has been particularly full of fans asking for spares, knowing full well that it’s
their last chance to see the Royals in action at Griffin Park. I suspect that all but a small few
of those hopefuls will end up being hugely disappointed.
I also suspect that a key reason for Griffin Park’s popularity is how much of an antithesis it is
to the Madejski Stadium, which of course only came into existence because Reading made
the same decision as Brentford, moving out of the antiquated Elm Park. For all its quality as
a well-built, well-designed modern stadium with great facilities, the Mad Stad lacks the
character of an old-fashioned ground.
Reading fans have the chance to enjoy a trip to one such old-fashioned ground for the last
time this Saturday. Here’s to us seeing Griffin Park off with another three points.
