Kenilworth Road
Encyclopedia
Kenilworth Road Stadium is a football stadium
in Luton
, Bedfordshire
, England
. It has been home to Luton Town Football Club
since 1905, when financial complications forced the club to leave its previous location at Dunstable Road. The ground has also hosted women's and youth international matches, as well as a number of local competitions.
The 10,226 all-seater stadium
is situated in Bury Park
, one mile (1.6 km) west of the centre of Luton. It is named after the road which runs along one end of it, but the official address is 1 Maple Road. Kenilworth Road hosted football in the Southern League
until 1920, and in the Football League
until 2009, when Luton were relegated to the Conference National
.
The ground is known for the artificial playing surface
which was present from 1985 to 1991, as well as the unusual entrance to the Oak Road End. Floodlights were fitted in 1953, and the ground became all-seated in 1986. The record attendance of 30,069 was set in 1959, in an FA Cup
sixth round replay against Blackpool
.
Luton Town moved to Kenilworth Road in 1905, leaving their previous home at Dunstable Road after their landlord sold the site for housing at short notice. The club's directors quickly procured a new site, and the club's first match at the new ground came on 4 September 1905 – a 0–0 draw against Plymouth Argyle
. Watford
player C. Barnes scored the first ever goal at the stadium, in a reserve match. Originally known as Ivy Road, the new ground brought success with it – in their last season at Dunstable Road, Luton had finished second from bottom, but in the first at Kenilworth Road, Luton finished fourth in the Southern League
.
The ground has undergone several major changes since its original construction in 1905. The original Main Stand, boasting a press loft and a balcony above the roof, burnt down in 1921, and was replaced by the current stand before the 1922–23 campaign. The new Main Stand was split into two – the upper tier contained wooden seats, so there was a ban on smoking in the stand – the lower tier, which became known as the Enclosure, was terracing.
When attendances were first counted, in 1932–33, Luton Town's average home attendance was taken at 5,868. Kenilworth Road's capacity of the time was 25,000, so it was not deemed necessary to improve the ground. However, only three years later, on 25 April 1936, a match against Coventry City
attracted 23,142 spectators – at that time a club record. The decision was taken to renovate the stadium, already in disrepair, and work began at the end of the following season. The Kenilworth End terrace was extended, the Oak Road End received a roof and major work was done on the Main Stand. Following these steps, the ground was more in line with those of rival clubs, the capacity standing at 30,000.
The first ten years following Kenilworth Road's renovation saw average attendances of between 15,000 and 18,000; a huge improvement on what the club had previously been able to attract. Floodlights
were installed at the ground before the 1953–54 season, and used for the first time in a friendly
against Turkish
side Fenerbahçe on 7 October 1953. The Oak Road terrace was extended in 1955, and promotion to the First Division
for 1955–56 saw the average attendance climb as high as 21,454.
Renovation of Kenilworth Road was neglected for the next two decades – financial difficulties and the club's ambitions to build a new ground meant that regeneration was unaffordable, and would also prove unnecessary should relocation occur. However, following the rejection of several potential sites for a new ground, the club finally turned their attentions back to the maintenance of Kenilworth Road. The first real modernisation of the ground came in 1973, with the first addition of seats at the stadium since the construction of the new Main Stand in 1922. The Bobbers Stand became all-seated, while the rest of the ground remained terracing. The new-look stand could only hold 1,539 seats, and as a result the capacity of the ground dropped to 22,601.
A £1 million refubishment got under way in 1985 with the introduction of artificial turf
, as well as the conversion of the ground to all-seater, which began a year later in 1986. The Oak Road End was filled with seats, while the Bobbers Stand had its seats ripped out to be replaced with executive boxes. The Main Stand's enclosure received seats, and work also began on converting the Kenilworth Stand, which had a roof added at this time. The stand would also receive seats in stages over the coming years.
The David Preece Stand was erected in 1991, simply called the New Stand on construction. The final improvements to the ground came in 2005, when the conversion of the Kenilworth Stand was finally completed to bring the capacity to its present 10,226.
' experiment at Loftus Road
four years earlier, the grass pitch was dug up and replaced with an artificial playing surface
. The surface, called Sporturf Professional, was manufactured by En-Tout-Cas, and cost the club £350,000. The first match on the new pitch was a 1–1 draw with Nottingham Forest
. The new surface became exceedingly unpopular – derided as "the plastic pitch", other clubs were starting to protest about Luton's artificial pitch by 1989. A meeting was held with other major clubs, mediated by a Football League
Commission. The League Commission concluded that the pitch had suffered too much wear and tear from excessive use, and Luton installed a new surface during the summer of 1989, at the cost of £60,000. This new artificial pitch was dug up during the summer of 1991, as the surfaces were banned from English football
.
visited Kenilworth Road for an FA Cup
sixth round match. After only 14 minutes the match was halted as the visiting fans began to riot. The referee took both teams off for 25 minutes, before bringing them back on to complete the match. Following the final whistle, and a 1–0 victory for Luton, another pitch invasion and subsequent riot by away supporters caused noticeable damage to the ground and the surrounding area. Many of those arrested turned out to be supporters of teams other than Millwall. The club's chairman, David Evans, reacted by imposing a ban on all away supporters from Kenilworth Road from the start of 1986–87, as well as introducing a scheme that would require even home supporters to carry membership cards to be admitted to matches. The Football League
insisted that Luton relax the ban for League Cup
matches, but when Evans refused to allow Cardiff City
fans to visit Kenilworth Road for their second round tie, the club were thrown out of the competition. The ban continued for four seasons, with exceptions for cup matches, before Luton Town repealed the ban for 1990–91.
rent for its continued use. This arrangement has been extended several times, and as of 2010 is due to end in 2018, with a further 10 years due to be added should Luton win promotion to The Football League before the 2014–15 season.
The ground is made up of five stands – opposite the eponymous Kenilworth Stand is the Oak Road End, and to the left is the Main Stand, which is flanked to its right by the David Preece Stand. Opposite them stand a row of executive boxes. The Main Stand covers about two thirds of the length of the pitch, though the attached enclosure is longer, covering the whole distance. The Main Stand, which seats 4,277 fans, also contains the dressing rooms, club offices and television gantry, as well as a number of supporting pillars, a car park and the Nick Owen
and Eric Morecambe
suites. To the Main Stand's right, in the corner above the end of the Enclosure and next to the Kenilworth Stand, is the David Preece Stand, a family area which seats 711 spectators. The Preece Stand acquired its present name in 2008, a year after the former player's death.
Opposite the Main and Preece Stands are 25 executive boxes, which have an attached net to catch balls directed over them and a total capacity of 209. The Bobbers Stand stood here until 1986, when the seats were removed from the stand and replaced with the boxes.
To the right of the Main Stand is the 3,229-seater Kenilworth Stand, which backs onto Kenilworth Road. The Club Shop is behind this stand, which was once an open terrace but is now a roofed all-seater stand. In the corner between the Kenilworth Stand and the boxes is the stadium clock.
Opposite the Kenilworth Stand is the Oak Road End, which bears an electronic scoreboard on its roof and can seat a maximum of 1,800 fans. The Oak Road End was once a home section but is now away fans only. The Oak Road End has a highly unusual entrance, requiring spectators to go through an entrance built into the row of houses and up stairs to the stand.
Luton Town have been looking for a new ground since 1955, when club chairman Percy Mitchell spoke of building a stadium "to hold 35,000 in comfort ... [and] get a lot of support which goes to London at the moment". However, due to unstable finances and an inability to find a site, no ground was built. A proposed move to Milton Keynes
in the 1980s led to supporters protesting in Luton
, and the matter was therefore dropped. The spectre of relocation up the M1 motorway to the new town
reappeared several times over the years, but the opportunity to switch to Milton Keynes
was never exploited. Such a move is now very unlikely following the creation of Milton Keynes Dons
.
The club itself has only managed to get as far as a planning application for a new ground once, when chairman David Kohler
's Kohlerdome was proposed in 1995. The Kohlerdome was envisioned by Kohler as a 20,000 all-seater indoor arena with a retractable roof and pitch, hosting 85 capacity events each year. Kohler's plans, though ambitious, were perhaps not very realistic – the plans were turned down by the Secretary of State
in 1998, with the reason given that the ground was not feasible unless the M1 motorway was widened. Kohler put the club on the market on the plan's rejection, and after a period under Cliff Bassett, the club came under the control of Mike Watson-Challis in 2000. Watson-Challis bought 55 acres (222,577.3 m²) of land by Junction 10 of the M1 in 2001, intending to move the club there, but once again, nothing came of the scheme. Most recently, in 2007, Jayten Stadium Limited were hoping to relocate the club to a new purpose built stadium at Junction 12, near Harlington
and Toddington
. This plan was very unpopular with both Luton Town supporters and the local authorities, but a planning application was still submitted by former chairman Bassett on the club's behalf. The application was withdrawn by the club almost immediately after the takeover by Nick Owen
's Luton Town Football Club 2020 consortium in 2008.
, the club is undertaking an independent feasibility study to determine a viable location to move to. Sites mooted include a ground built as part of a new housing development to the west of Luton
and a site by the proposed Junction 11A of the M1, which is the preferred site of the local authorities. The club has not ruled out staying at a redeveloped Kenilworth Road.
. The inaugural UEFA Women's Championship
in 1984
saw Kenilworth Road play host to the second leg of the Final against Sweden
, won by Sweden on penalties. The most recent use of the stadium by the women's team was a 4–2 victory over Spain
on 22 March 2001. Kenilworth Road has been used by England
's under-17 team
since the 1970s, most recently in a 3–0 win over their Italian
counterparts in the 2007 FA International Tournament Final.
The ground is home to the Hatters Study Support Centre, which provides local school pupils with ICT equipment, football training
and lessons in numeracy
and literacy
. Kenilworth Road also hosts a number of local tournaments and events, including an annual youth competition organised by London Luton Airport
.
The highest attendance record at this stadium was 30,069 against Blackpool
in the FA Cup on 4 March 1959. The highest attendance in the Football League
was 27,911 against Wolverhampton Wanderers
in Division One
on 5 November 1955.
The highest seasonal average for Luton at Kenilworth Road has been 21,455 in the 1955–56 season. Luton's lowest seasonal average has been 5,527 in 1998–99. The most recent season in which the average attendance was more than 10,000 was in the 1990–91 season, when the seasonal average was 10,313.
The ground is located about half a mile away from Luton railway station
, which lies on the Midland Main Line
between London
's St Pancras railway station
and Leeds
's City station
. Many of the roads near the ground are for residential permit holders only, meaning car parking at the ground is notoriously difficult. The number 31 bus, which is operated by Arriva
and runs every ten minutes from outside the train station, stops at the junction of Oak Road and Dunstable Road. The planned Luton to Dunstable Busway
between London Luton Airport
and Houghton Regis
, which as of 2009 is due to begin development in 2010 and become operational in 2011, will include a terminal behind the Main Stand on Clifton Road.
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It has been home to Luton Town Football Club
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
since 1905, when financial complications forced the club to leave its previous location at Dunstable Road. The ground has also hosted women's and youth international matches, as well as a number of local competitions.
The 10,226 all-seater stadium
All-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most soccer and American football stadiums in the United States and Canada are all-seaters, as are most baseball...
is situated in Bury Park
Bury Park
Bury Park is located one mile north west of Luton town centre on the road to Dunstable. Since the mid 1970s a large Muslim Pakistani community has grown and Bury Park is now the home of a purpose-built mosque....
, one mile (1.6 km) west of the centre of Luton. It is named after the road which runs along one end of it, but the official address is 1 Maple Road. Kenilworth Road hosted football in the Southern League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
until 1920, and in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
until 2009, when Luton were relegated to the Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
.
The ground is known for the artificial playing surface
Artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...
which was present from 1985 to 1991, as well as the unusual entrance to the Oak Road End. Floodlights were fitted in 1953, and the ground became all-seated in 1986. The record attendance of 30,069 was set in 1959, in an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
sixth round replay against Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
.
History
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
. Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
player C. Barnes scored the first ever goal at the stadium, in a reserve match. Originally known as Ivy Road, the new ground brought success with it – in their last season at Dunstable Road, Luton had finished second from bottom, but in the first at Kenilworth Road, Luton finished fourth in the Southern League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
.
The ground has undergone several major changes since its original construction in 1905. The original Main Stand, boasting a press loft and a balcony above the roof, burnt down in 1921, and was replaced by the current stand before the 1922–23 campaign. The new Main Stand was split into two – the upper tier contained wooden seats, so there was a ban on smoking in the stand – the lower tier, which became known as the Enclosure, was terracing.
When attendances were first counted, in 1932–33, Luton Town's average home attendance was taken at 5,868. Kenilworth Road's capacity of the time was 25,000, so it was not deemed necessary to improve the ground. However, only three years later, on 25 April 1936, a match against Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
attracted 23,142 spectators – at that time a club record. The decision was taken to renovate the stadium, already in disrepair, and work began at the end of the following season. The Kenilworth End terrace was extended, the Oak Road End received a roof and major work was done on the Main Stand. Following these steps, the ground was more in line with those of rival clubs, the capacity standing at 30,000.
Floodlights (sport)
Floodlights are broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial lights often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions....
were installed at the ground before the 1953–54 season, and used for the first time in a friendly
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
against Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
side Fenerbahçe on 7 October 1953. The Oak Road terrace was extended in 1955, and promotion to the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
for 1955–56 saw the average attendance climb as high as 21,454.
Renovation of Kenilworth Road was neglected for the next two decades – financial difficulties and the club's ambitions to build a new ground meant that regeneration was unaffordable, and would also prove unnecessary should relocation occur. However, following the rejection of several potential sites for a new ground, the club finally turned their attentions back to the maintenance of Kenilworth Road. The first real modernisation of the ground came in 1973, with the first addition of seats at the stadium since the construction of the new Main Stand in 1922. The Bobbers Stand became all-seated, while the rest of the ground remained terracing. The new-look stand could only hold 1,539 seats, and as a result the capacity of the ground dropped to 22,601.
A £1 million refubishment got under way in 1985 with the introduction of artificial turf
Artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...
, as well as the conversion of the ground to all-seater, which began a year later in 1986. The Oak Road End was filled with seats, while the Bobbers Stand had its seats ripped out to be replaced with executive boxes. The Main Stand's enclosure received seats, and work also began on converting the Kenilworth Stand, which had a roof added at this time. The stand would also receive seats in stages over the coming years.
The David Preece Stand was erected in 1991, simply called the New Stand on construction. The final improvements to the ground came in 2005, when the conversion of the Kenilworth Stand was finally completed to bring the capacity to its present 10,226.
Artificial pitch
In 1985, following the lead of Queen Park RangersQueens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
' experiment at Loftus Road
Loftus Road
Loftus Road is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, London. It is home to the English football team Queens Park Rangers of the Premier League and has a capacity of around 18,500. The four stands are called the Loftus Road End , Ellerslie Road Stand, South Africa Road Stand and the School End,...
four years earlier, the grass pitch was dug up and replaced with an artificial playing surface
Artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...
. The surface, called Sporturf Professional, was manufactured by En-Tout-Cas, and cost the club £350,000. The first match on the new pitch was a 1–1 draw with Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
. The new surface became exceedingly unpopular – derided as "the plastic pitch", other clubs were starting to protest about Luton's artificial pitch by 1989. A meeting was held with other major clubs, mediated by a Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
Commission. The League Commission concluded that the pitch had suffered too much wear and tear from excessive use, and Luton installed a new surface during the summer of 1989, at the cost of £60,000. This new artificial pitch was dug up during the summer of 1991, as the surfaces were banned from English football
Football in England
Association football is a national sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game...
.
Away fan ban
On 13 March 1985, MillwallMillwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
visited Kenilworth Road for an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
sixth round match. After only 14 minutes the match was halted as the visiting fans began to riot. The referee took both teams off for 25 minutes, before bringing them back on to complete the match. Following the final whistle, and a 1–0 victory for Luton, another pitch invasion and subsequent riot by away supporters caused noticeable damage to the ground and the surrounding area. Many of those arrested turned out to be supporters of teams other than Millwall. The club's chairman, David Evans, reacted by imposing a ban on all away supporters from Kenilworth Road from the start of 1986–87, as well as introducing a scheme that would require even home supporters to carry membership cards to be admitted to matches. The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
insisted that Luton relax the ban for League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
matches, but when Evans refused to allow Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
fans to visit Kenilworth Road for their second round tie, the club were thrown out of the competition. The ban continued for four seasons, with exceptions for cup matches, before Luton Town repealed the ban for 1990–91.
Ownership
The ground was first constructed in 1905, soon before the club moved in. The club rented the ground until 1933, when newly appointed chairman Charles Jeyes organised the purchase of the stadium. The club retained ownership of the ground until February 1989, when the freehold was sold to Luton Borough Council for £3.25 million. The club was granted a seven year lease at peppercornPeppercorn (legal)
A peppercorn in legal parlance is a metaphor for a very small payment, a nominal consideration, used to satisfy the requirements for the creation of a legal contract. "A peppercorn does not cease to be good consideration if it is established that the promisee does not like pepper and will throw...
rent for its continued use. This arrangement has been extended several times, and as of 2010 is due to end in 2018, with a further 10 years due to be added should Luton win promotion to The Football League before the 2014–15 season.
Structure and facilities
Nick Owen
Nicholas "Nick" Corbishley Owen is an English television presenter and newsreader, best known for presenting the breakfast television programme TV-am and the BBC's local news show Midlands Today since 1997...
and Eric Morecambe
Eric Morecambe
John Eric Bartholomew OBE , known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the award-winning double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death of a heart attack in 1984...
suites. To the Main Stand's right, in the corner above the end of the Enclosure and next to the Kenilworth Stand, is the David Preece Stand, a family area which seats 711 spectators. The Preece Stand acquired its present name in 2008, a year after the former player's death.
Opposite the Main and Preece Stands are 25 executive boxes, which have an attached net to catch balls directed over them and a total capacity of 209. The Bobbers Stand stood here until 1986, when the seats were removed from the stand and replaced with the boxes.
To the right of the Main Stand is the 3,229-seater Kenilworth Stand, which backs onto Kenilworth Road. The Club Shop is behind this stand, which was once an open terrace but is now a roofed all-seater stand. In the corner between the Kenilworth Stand and the boxes is the stadium clock.
Opposite the Kenilworth Stand is the Oak Road End, which bears an electronic scoreboard on its roof and can seat a maximum of 1,800 fans. The Oak Road End was once a home section but is now away fans only. The Oak Road End has a highly unusual entrance, requiring spectators to go through an entrance built into the row of houses and up stairs to the stand.
Future
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
in the 1980s led to supporters protesting in Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, and the matter was therefore dropped. The spectre of relocation up the M1 motorway to the new town
New towns in the United Kingdom
Below is a list of some of the new towns in the United Kingdom created under the various New Town Acts of the 20th century. Some earlier towns were developed as Garden Cities or overspill estates early in the twentieth century. The New Towns proper were planned to disperse population following the...
reappeared several times over the years, but the opportunity to switch to Milton Keynes
Relocation of Wimbledon F.C. to Milton Keynes
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football prior to a "fairytale" rise through the divisions following election to The Football League...
was never exploited. Such a move is now very unlikely following the creation of Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
.Milton Keynes Dons Football Club is an English professional football club founded in 2004 and based since 2007 at Stadium mk, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire...
.
The club itself has only managed to get as far as a planning application for a new ground once, when chairman David Kohler
David Kohler
David Kohler was chairman of Luton Town Football Club from 1992 until 1999.Kohler was a property developer when he took joint ownership of Luton Town on 22 May 1990, in partnership with Peter Nelkin. Nelkin was appointed chairman, and Kohler the managing director...
's Kohlerdome was proposed in 1995. The Kohlerdome was envisioned by Kohler as a 20,000 all-seater indoor arena with a retractable roof and pitch, hosting 85 capacity events each year. Kohler's plans, though ambitious, were perhaps not very realistic – the plans were turned down by the Secretary of State
Secretary of State (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, a Secretary of State is a Cabinet Minister in charge of a Government Department ....
in 1998, with the reason given that the ground was not feasible unless the M1 motorway was widened. Kohler put the club on the market on the plan's rejection, and after a period under Cliff Bassett, the club came under the control of Mike Watson-Challis in 2000. Watson-Challis bought 55 acres (222,577.3 m²) of land by Junction 10 of the M1 in 2001, intending to move the club there, but once again, nothing came of the scheme. Most recently, in 2007, Jayten Stadium Limited were hoping to relocate the club to a new purpose built stadium at Junction 12, near Harlington
Harlington, Bedfordshire
Harlington is a village and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England, near the M1 motorway. The nearest town is Flitwick about three miles to the north...
and Toddington
Toddington, Bedfordshire
Toddington is a large village and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire, England which is situated 5 miles NNW of Luton, north of Dunstable, south west of Woburn and 35 miles NNW of London on the A5120 and B579. It is 0.5 miles from Junction 12 of the M1 motorway and lends its...
. This plan was very unpopular with both Luton Town supporters and the local authorities, but a planning application was still submitted by former chairman Bassett on the club's behalf. The application was withdrawn by the club almost immediately after the takeover by Nick Owen
Nick Owen
Nicholas "Nick" Corbishley Owen is an English television presenter and newsreader, best known for presenting the breakfast television programme TV-am and the BBC's local news show Midlands Today since 1997...
's Luton Town Football Club 2020 consortium in 2008.
, the club is undertaking an independent feasibility study to determine a viable location to move to. Sites mooted include a ground built as part of a new housing development to the west of Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
and a site by the proposed Junction 11A of the M1, which is the preferred site of the local authorities. The club has not ruled out staying at a redeveloped Kenilworth Road.
Other uses
Kenilworth Road has been used occasionally by the England women's teamEngland women's national football team
The England women's national football team represents England in international women's football. The side has been quite successful of late, qualifying for three World Cups, 1995, 2007 and 2011...
. The inaugural UEFA Women's Championship
UEFA Women's Championship
The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro and unofficially the "European Cup", held every fourth year, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA Confederation...
in 1984
1984 European Competition for Women's Football
The 1984 European Competition for Women's Football was won by Sweden on penalties against England. It comprised four qualifying groups, and the winner of each went through to the semi-finals which were played over two legs, home and away...
saw Kenilworth Road play host to the second leg of the Final against Sweden
Sweden women's national football team
Sweden women's national football team are a football team officially representing Sweden in women's football. They won the unofficial European Championships in 1984, a success the team has not managed to repeat, it has however won one World Cup-silver as well as three European Cup-silvers...
, won by Sweden on penalties. The most recent use of the stadium by the women's team was a 4–2 victory over Spain
Spain women's national football team
The Spain women's national football team represents Spain in international women's football.-World Cup record:- Olympic Games record :- European Championship record :- U-20 :- U-19 :- U-18 :- U-17 :- Current squad :...
on 22 March 2001. Kenilworth Road has been used by England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's under-17 team
England national under-17 football team
-Elite Qualifying Group 3:-Group stage:-Fifth place play-off:-FA International U17 Tournament:-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship qualifying round....
since the 1970s, most recently in a 3–0 win over their Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
counterparts in the 2007 FA International Tournament Final.
The ground is home to the Hatters Study Support Centre, which provides local school pupils with ICT equipment, football training
Training
The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...
and lessons in numeracy
Numeracy
Numeracy is the ability to reason with numbers and other mathematical concepts. A numerically literate person can manage and respond to the mathematical demands of life...
and literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
. Kenilworth Road also hosts a number of local tournaments and events, including an annual youth competition organised by London Luton Airport
London Luton Airport
London Luton Airport is an international airport located east of the town centre in the Borough of Luton in Bedfordshire, England and is north of Central London. The airport is from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway...
.
Records
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
in the FA Cup on 4 March 1959. The highest attendance in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
was 27,911 against Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
in Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
on 5 November 1955.
The highest seasonal average for Luton at Kenilworth Road has been 21,455 in the 1955–56 season. Luton's lowest seasonal average has been 5,527 in 1998–99. The most recent season in which the average attendance was more than 10,000 was in the 1990–91 season, when the seasonal average was 10,313.
Transport
The ground is located about half a mile away from Luton railway station
Luton railway station
Luton railway station is located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The station is near to the town centre, about three minutes' walk from the Arndale Shopping Centre. It is situated on the Midland Main Line and is operated by First Capital Connect.-History:...
, which lies on the Midland Main Line
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line is a major railway route in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.The present-day line links London St...
between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
and Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
's City station
Leeds City railway station
Leeds railway station is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England...
. Many of the roads near the ground are for residential permit holders only, meaning car parking at the ground is notoriously difficult. The number 31 bus, which is operated by Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
and runs every ten minutes from outside the train station, stops at the junction of Oak Road and Dunstable Road. The planned Luton to Dunstable Busway
Transport in Luton
Luton has excellent transport links and is situated less than 50km north of the centre of London, giving it good links with the City and other parts of the country via the motorway network and the National Rail system. Luton is also home to London Luton Airport, one of the major feeder airports...
between London Luton Airport
London Luton Airport
London Luton Airport is an international airport located east of the town centre in the Borough of Luton in Bedfordshire, England and is north of Central London. The airport is from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway...
and Houghton Regis
Houghton Regis
Houghton Regis is a town and civil parish sandwiched between the major towns of Luton to the east and Dunstable to the west. The parish includes the ancient hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn and Sewell...
, which as of 2009 is due to begin development in 2010 and become operational in 2011, will include a terminal behind the Main Stand on Clifton Road.