Published: Thursday, 28th August, 2008 9:00am

Ten years of Royals hospitality

by Alan Bunce

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After ten years of football at the Madstad, one of the Royals' most consistent business supporters looks at the stadium's early history.

Chris Bartlett

FOR one Reading fan the Madejski Stadium has not only been a theatre of royal dreams but helped him grow his business alongside the club.

Chris Bartlett, a Royals fan of almost 40 years, is a veteran of the Tilehurst End and the South Bank at Elm Park. He is one of the founders of IT recruitment specialists GCS and is now a regular supporter not only of the team on matchdays but of the club through its corporate hospitality.

His memories of the hospitality at Elm Park evoked mixed emotions. He said: "I only ever attended the hospitality boxes at Elm Park once - at the invitation of a friend, Kiren Sharma, managing director of Gravity Personnel.

"The food and drink was very basic and the boxes themselves had a wooden shed appeal but Kiren was a great host and meeting another businessman or two and a player or two made it a great afternoon."

He was quickly sold on the delights of the new stadium though and after a tour of the unfinished structure in 1998, he took executive box number 6 for season 1998/99. The following year he took space in the Royals restaurant where he has remained ever since, occasionally sponsoring the match ball or the match itself.

Mr Bartlett said the Premiership took his relationships with clients to a new level: "The excitement of the Premiership was excellent and our table was fully booked with customers, certainly throughout the first season and generally for the second.

"Even though we have slipped down a league we have maintained our presence in the restaurant, the food is always excellent and it remains a great way to socialise with customers. It is great for networking around the local and not so local business community."

Mr Bartlett added: "The move to the Madejski and the vision that John Madejski had for the club has been a great boom for business in Reading.

"Although Elm Park had its own magic and atmosphere, the Madstad has taken the experience to a much higher level and provided local business with facilities that we could only dream about over 10 years ago."