More images revealed as ex-Premier League side eye up leaving iconic home of 119 years with new stadium plans validated

Yesterday at 04:45 PM

One of English football’s most iconic stadiums could soon be a thing of the past as Luton’s plans to leave Kenilworth Road have been validated.

The Hatters announced earlier this month that they submitted a formal application to Luton Borough Council to build a new 25,000-capacity ground at its Power Court site in the town centre.

And now the club have revealed that their planning application has now been formally and successfully validated.

Chief executive Gary Sweet said: "We wish to place on record our gratitude to the Council’s officers and planning team for their promptness in validating these extensive set of plans."

Due to another stage of the process being completed, it also means the documents are now in the public domain and more images of their proposed new stadium have been released.

The Hatters are targeting a completion date of 2027, which means fans may have just three years left to enjoy their historic home of 119 years – Kenilworth Road.

Supporters up and down the country have fallen in love with the 12,000-seater stadium, which has its away end cut into a row of terraced houses.

But it’s low capacity has proven to be problematic, with the ground having to be upgraded last season to meet the Premier League’s requirements for broadcasters.

Kenilworth Road is even the smallest stadium in the Championship, with Oxford’s Kassam Stadium a close second with 12,500 seats.

And now Luton look to move into a home over double in capacity size, with the club stating it will mark a ‘regenerative era for the town’.

In a club statement, Luton chairman David Wilkinson said: "As an invested observer into this project it was staggering to see the amount of work that has gone into every detail, with such exceptional craftmanship.

"We appreciate some may be anxious to see some visible progress – as indeed we all are.

“But the sheer volume of forced changes brought about by society, politics, economic forces and our very own growth, has ultimately led to a bigger, better, more ambitious, more beautiful and more sustainable end product which we are all excited to present.

"We all need to positively get behind our team now to hope that, while we watch the cranes put the concrete and steel in place, the wonderful new stadium debuts as the home to a Premier League team."

Meanwhile, chief executive Sweet added: “This important announcement is a pivotal moment for all supporters, residents and businesses of Luton.

“Once our lives changed 16 months ago with promotion at Wembley, concurrent to the gargantuan task of getting Kenilworth Road Premier League ready – which naturally dominated our workload for most of last year – we decided to reassemble a design team to take a fresh look at the whole Power Court project from foundations upwards.”

While things look to be promising off the pitch for Luton, things are starting to pick up on it.

Rob Edwards’ side made a poor start to the new season, but have won their last two games as they look to build momentum.

They beat Millwall 1-0 at The Den which saw them climb out of the relegation zone.

And then they followed it up with three points against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend to rise up the table again.

Edwards’ goal will be promotion and with a new stadium planned, the club will want to be in the top flight by the time they move.