Luton could demolish and rebuild the Bobbers Stand in just ONE SUMMER

Luton are planning to demolish and rebuild their Bobbers Stand in just ONE SUMMER if they secure promotion to the Premier League by beating Coventry in the play-off final on Saturday

  • Luton are currently one win away from becoming a Premier League team
  • Rob Edwards’ side will face Coventry in the playoff final on Saturday 
  • If they are promoted, Luton will rebuild one of their stands in just one summer 

Luton Town will demolish and rebuild an entire stand in one summer to bring Kenilworth Road up to Premier League standards if they beat Coventry in the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

It will cost close to £10million to knock down the old Bobbers Stand, which was turned into executive boxes in 1986, running down one side of the pitch, and replace it with new facilities including a media centre, TV and data analysis studios, toilets and a canteen.

Details were revealed yesterday by chief executive Gary Sweet, who is confident it can be ready in 12 weeks if necessary before the new Premier League season begins in mid-August.

‘If anyone can, we can,’ vowed 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.’

Luton are set to demolish and rebuild an entire stand in one summer if they secure promotion to the Premier League

Luton booked their place in the Championship play-off final by beating Sunderland on Tuesday

Luton also plan to install some new seating for fans and may be able to increase the capacity slightly at the ground, which has been home to the club since it first opened in 1905.

There will also be an upgrade for the floodlights and new camera positions to meet the demands of the Premier League for their high definition broadcast rights.

‘We’ve no complaints about that,’ said Sweet, who will hope to re-use some of the materials at the proposed new stadium at Power Court in the centre of town.

Promotion to the top flight is worth £180million, a windfall not vital but certainly helpful to completing the stadium project, and may enable the Hatters to aim for a larger capacity than the one currently planned, for about 19,200.

Until then, Kenilworth Road would add unique ramshackle charm to the glitzy Premier League if they complete their incredible rise from non-League to the top-flight in just nine years.

‘This is real life, real football, history, tradition right here,’ added Sweet. ‘This isn’t a sterile bowl. This is lively. This is emotion. This is white knuckles, tears and joy in this stadium. This is a cauldron. If you can’t embrace it you don’t love football.’

There is no wriggle room on the access, though, leaving visiting fans to enter the away end through the Oak Road entrance, squeezed into a row of terraced houses.

‘There aren’t any other access points,’ said Sweet. ‘It is as it is. We might have a lick of paint and new signage every so often but let’s embrace this. It annoys me and makes me giggle when you get the social media content about an away end going through gardens.

Luton chief executive Gary Sweet was confident the stand could be built in 12 weeks but does not want to change the ‘beautiful’ stadium too much

‘It’s been like that since World War II or even before. Why is it raised now, just because we might be going into 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.

‘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.’

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