Luton Town hopes to be promoted to the Premier League at Wembley on Saturday at the expense of Coventry City. It would be a special achievement, because ‘The Hatters’ still played among the amateurs in 2014. A mandatory renovation of the 118-year-old stadium of the cult club awaits upon promotion.
“Anything is possible at Kenilworth Road,” said captain Tom Lockyer with a smile after the 2-0 win over Sunderland in the semi-finals of the play-offs. “When a packed stadium gets behind us, magical things can happen. These are special nights you will never forget.”
Luton Town had brushed away the earlier 2-1 defeat against Sunderland on May 16. After the final whistle, a storming of the field followed on ‘Kenny’. Hundreds of fans celebrated on the pitch with the players and staff. The thought of a return to the top division sent fans into ecstasy.
The Championship club was last active at the top of the English football pyramid in the 1992/1993 season. Since then, the club has dropped to the fifth tier. The advance started in 2014, with three promotions in six seasons. And all this with a dated stadium that has been reviled and embraced by football supporters for decades.
Stadium may have been extensively renovated
Built in 1905, Kenilworth Road is a regular haunt for ‘vinckers’, football fans who visit old stadiums for their character. The building is located in a residential area. Away fans have to negotiate a narrow corridor and climb a rusty staircase that crosses the gardens of the terraced houses to enter the stadium.
The striking home of Luton Town can accommodate 10,356 supporters. If promoted, it will be the smallest home ground in the Premier League ever. Currently, Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium (11,379) is the smallest stadium.
Luton Town will have to adjust the stadium if the club is promoted. “We practically have to rebuild an entire stand to meet the requirements of the Premier League,” said director Gary Sweet at the club. BBC. “It is a gigantic task, perhaps even bigger than building a completely new stadium.”
Sweet acknowledged that little has been done to the stadium since 1905. “There is a lot of work to be done. The costs can amount to 11 million euros.” The renovation costs can be amply covered by the financial reward for promotion. With a win over Gustavo Hamer’s Coventry City, Luton Town can certainly add 220 million euros. This is the estimated earnings if you play in the Premier League.
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Plans for new stadium
Luton Town will not play at Kenilworth Road forever. The club has been planning plans for a new home since 1955. A move seems imminent in the coming years. Sweet presented the design of the new home base in the city center on Thursday, on the site of a former power station.
“We hope to be able to drive the first pile at the end of this year or early next year,” Sweet said of the stadium, which will house 23,000 supporters. The costs are estimated at 110 million euros. “You could say it’s a nice investment,” Sweet said with a sense of understatement. “A lucrative promotion would therefore be welcome.”
For now, Luton Town will continue to play their home games at Kenilworth Road and Sweet doesn’t mind at all. “Like it or not, Kenilworth Road is old school. Nostalgia. It is full of history and character. You either embrace it or you despise it. The choice is yours.”
