Bath in 'serious' talks to play home games at Reading
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- Bath Rugby has held "serious discussions" with Reading about playing two of their 2026-27 home fixtures at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, Royals owner Rob Couhig told BBC Radio Berkshire.
- Bath has confirmed their final two home Premiership games — against Harlequins on 15 May and Saracens on 5 June — will move from the Recreation Ground to enable construction work to begin.
- The redevelopment at the Rec is being accelerated to ensure completion ahead of the 2028-29 Premiership campaign, and any home semi-final tie next June would also be relocated.
- Couhig, who became Reading's owner in May 2025, pointed to a new pitch and upgraded stands as factors making the SCL Stadium capable of hosting rugby and recovering quickly between fixtures.
- Reading would reinvest any rental income from a Bath deal into its football squad, with Couhig noting League One's salary cost management protocol allows additional spending on players when extra revenue is generated.
- Reading's ground previously hosted London Irish rugby between 2000 and 2020, giving the venue a track record for cross-sport use.
Why it matters: Bath gets a Premiership-ready venue for its season run-in without delaying the multi-year Rec redevelopment targeted for 2028-29, while Reading gains rental income that League One's SCMP rules let it channel directly into player wages — a rare case of a football club benefiting financially from accommodating a rugby tenant without disrupting its own fixture calendar.
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