By Andy West, Head Of Communications

As part of the Club's ongoing development both on and off the pitch, a new five-storey office block is currently under construction at Madejski Stadium.

You can see the work taking place to the right of the hotel, where the opposing team coaches arrive, and it should all be completed by the end of the season.

The total cost of the project is around £2m, and an important element of the work is an upgrading of our media facilities, which will be housed on the third and fourth floors of the new block.

It's well known that the Premier League receives a huge amount of exposure in the worldwide media, and in order to satisfy the needs of the international press each club is obliged to provide the following:

-50 written press seats giving a good view of the pitch, each equipped with a desk top, an electricity supply, a clear view of a television monitor and access to a telephone line or wi-fi system.

-30 TV commentary positions located on a gantry (18 for UK broadcasters, 12 for overseas).

-15 commentary positions for use by radio broadcasters, each situated as close to the halfway line as possible and with a clear view of a television monitor.

-A working area comprising a room of minimum 50 square metres equipped with 15 individual or linked work stations, each with its own electricity supply and telephone socket.

-Press conference room with space for at least 40 reporters.

-Refreshment facilities to be made available for a reasonable period before and after the match and at half time.

To comply with these rules we have significantly upgraded our media facilities in the last 18 months since promotion, but failure to meet the requirements results in a significant financial penalty so it has been money well spent!

Although our current media facilities are adequate, we want to be a lot better than 'just about good enough', and the block currently under construction will allow us to provide a substantial improvement.

The new facilities will give us more space and present a more professional look to the visiting press - which is important because first impressions count, so members of the media are more likely to think highly of the Club in general if they are treated well.

And most importantly for the less active press representatives, the new block will contain a lift - no more traipsing up four flights of stairs to reach the press box!

But there will be a lot more to the new facilities than the enhanced media facilities, with the development also containing a new players' entrance and reception area as well as offices for the stadium staff.

The recent expansion of the Club has seen a significant growth in the number of staff employed, and the new block will allow us all to work in modern state of the art facilities.

So it's an exciting development for everybody who works at the Stadium and the media who visit us on a regular basis, and all part of the continued growth of the Club.

An important element of John Madejski's philosophy throughout his time as Chairman has been a commitment to investing in the Club's infrastructure, and that way of thinking has not suddenly stopped now that we've reached the Premier League.

In the past, everything was geared towards making sure that we were ready for the Premiership when the time arrived. Now we are in the top flight our new goal is to become a top ten club, and investing £2m in the stadium infrastructure to improve our media and office facilities is all part of that strategy.