Can Luton Town play in the Premier League with its stadium?

As Luton Town reached the English Championship Play-offs, many football fans (re)discovered the unique charm of Kenilworth Road, the stadium nestled between the terrace houses in the north London town. First, the team won the semi-final against Sunderland, and on Saturday in the Final, they beat Coventry City on penalties, in front of 85,000 spectators at Wembley. Lo and behold, Kenilworth Road does not have 85 thousand seats, it also does not have many other things that are essential for the team to be able to play in its historic stadium, and now that the Premier League goal is real, the club is moving forward with a last minute plan to bring the facilities up to standard, while retaining the identity of the facility and its entrances overlooking the inner gardens of the brick terraced houses.

Built in 1905, Kenilworth Road now seats just over 10,000, enough for Premier rules, which dictate a minimum of five (in Serie A it is 12,000). In any case in the 2023/2024 season, Luton Town will be the smallest stadium in the entire league and also the smallest ever in the Premier. The club unveiled plans back in 2015 for a new facility built in an industrial area of the town and capable of accommodating 17 thousand fans. The project will possibly be completed between 2026 and 2027, so in the meantime, the club has to think about substantial changes at Kenilworth Road that might be unnecessary in three years' time. 

The changes requested by the Premier League do not particularly concern the external structure and the super-photographed Oak Road Stand entrance, with turnstiles leading to steel bridges suspended between the gardens of the houses. Luton Town in just three months and with an estimated investment of £10-12 million will have to get their hands on the pitch, but also reinforce the lighting and rebuild the Bobbers Stand. The Premier League is a league that is followed and broadcast all over the world, some of Europe's greatest footballers will be playing at Kenilworth Road next year, and because of this the league imposes strict rules for press, TV and radio areas. 

The press room at Kenilworth Road will have to be rebuilt, too few 29 seats, with the Premier asking for 70, plus 50 for the world's media. Luton Town's stadium is not even equipped to accommodate the 15 commentary positions and the same number for radio commentary, as well as the 7 positions for commentary from the sidelines. During the Play-off semi-final return match against Sunderland, the stadium could not contain the media turnout, and some journalists found themselves watching the game from the screens and others directly from the stands. Kenilworth Road and its charms seem to elude football's technology, even the VAR will have to be installed from scratch in the months between the promotion party and the first game at the next station, scheduled for 12 August.  

Fortunately, some work is already at an advanced stage, having already been started 12 months ago when Luton Town came close to promotion by losing in the semi-final to Huddersfield Town. The Football Association and the Premier League then allow stadium expansions to be done gradually, to allow clubs to play in their own stadium and not have to look for other facilities. Kenilworth Road is the image of football that seems to be preserved in a time capsule, waiting to host Manchester City, Arsenal or United, less than three months away to make this home even more fascinating to the eyes of guests, never the better term to describe Kenilworth Road.