A river has been re-routed to make way for Luton Town’s new football stadium, which is due to open in 2028.
The BBC said the River Lea was previously culverted underground and was flowing through what will become the football pitch at Power Court.
More than 300m (984ft) of concrete tunnel has been installed to redirect it and the club is planning to create a riverside leisure area for supporters and residents.
Michael Moran, chief operating officer at 2020 Developments, said: “Many years of planning and work with the Environment Agency have gone in to get to this point.
“We’ve done a tonne of ground investigations, all these engineering works, and now the water is flowing down this new route.”
Luton Town Football Club is a professional football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England (UK). The club currently competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system.
The club currently plays at the12,056-capacity Kenilworth Road stadium, an association football stadium in Bury Park, Luton, Bedfordshire, England (UK). It has been the home ground of the Luton Town F.C. since 1905.
The 25,000-capacity Power Court Stadium is a planned football stadium to come up in Luton, Bedfordshire (UK) that will become the home ground for Luton Town F.C. ahead of the 2028-2029 seasons replacing the Kenilworth Road.
The Power Court site was home to a power station until 1969 and the river serviced its cooling towers.
The River Lea rises in the Leagrave area of Luton and passes through Hertfordshire before joining the Thames in London.
In 2023, Luton Borough Council opened up a section of the river in the town centre as part of the Hat Gardens park. Shortly after the Hat Gardens, the river flows into Power Court.
The BBC further stated that the original route has now been blocked off and sandbags lifted to release the water into its new channel.
Moran added, “We’ve effectively stopped the old river, and water is now flowing through the new channel around the edge of the site.
“The site has got a huge industrial past, so the work to date has been the hard yards in the ground, but it’s nice to see a nicer touch to it with the new river route opened up.”
Moran said the river was one of the “key impediments” to the building project, as well as a large UK Power Network sub-station.
He added, “By diverting the river, we can then remove the shell of the sub-station, and that happens next week. Cables have gone and it’s all ready to go, then we’ve got a flat site to start piling later this year.”
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 coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.