Luton Town will demolish and rebuild an entire stand of its stadium this summer should it beat Coventry in the Championship Playoff Final. Whichever team wins the massive match would earn automatic promotion to next season’s Premier League. Construction workers would potentially only have less than three months to complete the massive job.
If promoted, Luton will tear down Bobbers Stand at its historic Kenilworth Road stadium. It would then add seats, a media center, data analysis studios, restrooms, and even a restaurant. Additional floodlights and camera positions will also be included as well.
Luton confident $12 million stadium rebuild takes 12 weeks
The renovations would be necessary to comply with Premier League stadium guidelines. Club officials previously stated that the demolition would cost around $12 million to complete. However, Luton’s chief executive Gary Sweet was optimistic about the undertaking on Tuesday.
“If anyone can, we can,” proclaimed Sweet. “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.”
According to the Daily Mail, promotion to the Premier League is worth about $222 million. Although the renovation plans would be fairly expensive, earning promotion would more than cover the bill.
Kenilworth Road was built in 1905 and currently accommodates just over 10,000 fans at the moment. The club has plans to build an entirely new stadium in the near future. However, Luton hopes to re-use some of the materials in the possible renovations on the new arena.
Luton exec embracing current outdated ground
Sweet also embraced possibly having an old, unfashionable stadium in the Premier League. “Erling Haaland’s not going to walk through that entrance, he’s going to walk through the other s*** entrance we’ve got. Embrace it,” claimed Sweet.
“We’ve got thick skins and it just shows you don’t necessarily need lavish surroundings to succeed. You can do it with hard work and guile, with intelligence and sensible financial management and absolute determination and commitment.”
“You can do all that without having a beautiful stadium. It is beautiful though. The old girl is beautiful.”
Luton faces Coventry City in the Championship playoff final on Saturday, May 27th at Wembley Stadium. If the Hatters are promoted, stadium renovations are expected to start as soon as possible. The next Premier League campaign will begin in mid-August.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Action Plus
