Luton may have to play first month of EPL season on road

Luton Town may be forced to play away from home for the first few weeks of their Premier League season as they make upgrades to their stadium.

The Hatters recently earned promotion to the English top flight after beating Coventry City on penalties in May.

It will be the club’s first-ever season in the Premier League since the division formed over 30 years ago. The last time Luton played a top-flight match was in 1992.

Club has to renovate stadium to comply with rules

While they will feature in the top flight next season, Luton must also complete a stadium overhaul this summer. It was first revealed in April that the team would have to renovate their Kenilworth Road stadium if promoted. The construction is expected to cost the club around $12 million.

Luton was initially optimistic about the renovations being done in time for the start of the season in August. “We’ve got to practically rebuild a stand but we’ll have gone from non-League to the Premier League so we can manage that small matter,” club chief executive Gary Sweet said in May.

EPL officials discussing schedule with Luton

Nevertheless, Luton is now in discussions with the Premier League about possibly playing their first few matches on the road. “There is a schedule of about 11-12 weeks of work that has got to be done,” Luton exec Mick Harford told the BBC.

“It might become a bit of a problem, so we will probably have to play maybe two or three games away from home at the start of the Premier League season,” continued Harford. “But Gary’s got everything in place, we’re in a good place. The work has begun so it’s all systems go.”

Demolition has already begun on the Bobbers Stand at Kenilworth Road. Although the overall minimum seating requirement is fine at the moment, the stadium needs certain upgrades to fulfil Premier League demands.

This includes broadcasting facilities, additional floodlights, and more camera placements around the arena.

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