Kenilworth Road exotic £10m Bobbers Stand

Article posted by Coliseum, September 8^th, 2023

Image: Luton Town

A Premier League (UK) football club’s Chief Executive has asked for “patience” after it opened a new £10m stand.

‘BBC’ stated that newly-promoted Luton Town F.C. hosted their first game of the season at their home pitch – the Kenilworth Road in Luton, Bedfordshire, England (UK) – on August 29^th, having postponed an earlier match so that it could bring the Bobbers Stand up to league standards.

‘The Hatters’ beat League Two side Gillingham F.C. 3-2 in the Carabao Cup tie on August 29^th.

The Luton Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Luton, Bedfordshire, England (UK), which competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.

The 10,356-capacity Kenilworth Road, known affectionately as ‘The Kenny’ and ‘The Old Girl’, is an association football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England (UK). It has been the home ground of Luton Town Football Club since 1905.

The Gillingham Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent, England (UK). The only Kent-based club in the Football League, the ‘Gills’ play their home matches at the 11,582-capacity Priestfield Stadium.

The EFL Cup, currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition in men’s domestic football in England.

The head honcho of Luton Town F.C. Gary Sweet asked fans to “please bear with us” after opening the stand, adding, “We are all learning in this”.

‘BBC’ further stated that the August 29^th fixture doubled up as a test event, with the revamped stand at 75 percent capacity.

Tickets in the Bobbers Stand were distributed among the staff, contractors, displaced hospitality guests, and members of the local community affected by the redevelopment works in and around Kenilworth Road.

Stated Sweet, “To get feedback from those people is really, really important to us. There is going to be a lot of change going on here. Within a couple of games it will all settle down to a behavior and a habit and you’ll love it again – I hope – that’s what we’re going to aim for.”

Luton won the Championship playoffs in May to earn promotion to the top tier.

‘The Hatters’, who were a non-league side as recently as 2014, have been spending about £10m on “pretty much rebuilding” the Bobbers Stand, to meet the Premier League requirements for the broadcasters.

Luton hopes to complete a move to a new 23,000-capacity stadium at Power Court in the town center by 2026.

In 2019, the Luton Borough Council granted planning permission for a 23,000-seat stadium at Power Court for the Luton Town F.C. The location is popular with the supporters as it remains within Luton and is around one mile away from Kenilworth Road (not far from the railway station).

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at www.coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

Watch 500+ member-exclusive videos with valuable tips for your venue