Kenilworth Road
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| Kenilworth Road | |
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| Full name | Kenilworth Road Stadium |
| Nickname | The Kenny |
| Built | 1905 |
| Opened | 1905 |
| Capacity | 10,200 |
| Home of | Luton Town F.C. |
| Pitch size | 110 x 72 yards |
Kenilworth Road is a stadium in Luton, England which is home to Luton Town F.C., a professional football team in the English Football League Championship. The stadium is situated in the Bury Park area of the town and is named for the road which runs along one end of it though its address is actually 1 Maple Road. The capacity of the stadium is 10,200 all seated though crowds of up to 30,000 were accommodated before the seating was installed, the record crowd being 30,069 in 1959 for an FA Cup game against Blackpool. The ground is generally disliked by visiting supporters as it is very basic and has had very limited modernisation.
The club moved to Kenilworth Road in 1905, playing their first match against Plymouth Argyle. On September 10th 2005, at home to Wolves, the club celebrated its a hundredth year at Kenilworth Road.
[edit] Developments
The main stand was replaced following a fire in 1921 and was extended in 1937 with the purchase of Kempton Racecourse stand and has remained, aside for safety requirements being met, unchanged ever since, and the Bobbers stand was removed in 1986 to make way for executive boxes. The Oak Road end which houses the away fans is somewhat odd. Fans must enter by going underneath a part of a house, then they climb a staircase that overlooks many houses and gardens, before they enter the stand which, like the rest of the old ground, has poor facilities, and this stand has remained the same since a roof was added in 1986, save the change to an all-seater stand. The New Stand was a corner stand added in 1991, and has become the designated 'family zone' with 700 seats available. The Kenilworth Stand was a terrace that held over 16,000 before it had a roof added in 1986, and then with the change to an all seater stand, its capacity dwindled. However, in 2005, 550 extra seats where added to the Kenilworth Road end, taking the capacity of the whole ground to 10,200.
Kenilworth Road had an artificial pitch added in 1985, and it was removed later following the FA's decision to ban artificial surfaces in 1991. However, the Hatters enjoyed the best time of their long history during the mid Eighties, and the top teams in England at the time hated going to Kenilworth Road. Also during the 80s, a riot at the ground by fans of Millwall led Luton to impose a blanket ban on visiting supporters, for which the Football League expelled them from the League Cup.
[edit] Future Development
It has been obvious to the club that the stadium hasn't been financially viable for years, even before the successes of the 1980s the club was looking for a new site. During this time there were protests by supporters over a proposed move to Milton Keynes. Eventually fan power won, but the club has fallen into decline ever since, and the change to all seater stadium left Luton no room to improve Kenilworth Road. Despite this, the club has only managed to get as far as planning application once, in the late 1990s for the 'Kohler Dome' under then chairman David Kohler.
The club sold the ground to Luton Borough Council as their decline in fortunes and finance begun. The current lease is believe to run until the summer of 2014, and with the council having already waited for 15 years for a site they wish to develop, it remains to be seen whether or not they will extend the lease if a suitable site hasn't been developed for the club.
Currently, the club is hoping to move to a new purpose built stadium, at Junction 12 of the M1, near Harlington and Toddington. However the local authorities woudld prefer to see the stadium built at Junction 11A, once it is completed, yet the board are set on the Junction 12 site following an agreement with land-owner Cliff Bassett. Many fans are concerned as to the likely success of the project, which requires green belt land to be used for both the stadium and the enabling development.
[edit] External link
| Football League Championship venues, 2006-2007 |
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| Britannia Stadium | Carrow Road | Deepdale | Elland Road The Hawthorns | Hillsborough | Home Park | Kenilworth Road KC Stadium | Layer Road | Loftus Road | Molineux Stadium Ninian Park | Oakwell Stadium | Portman Road | Pride Park Stadium Ricoh Arena | Roots Hall | Selhurst Park | Stadium of Light St Andrews | St Mary's Stadium | Turf Moor | Walkers Stadium |
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Places within Luton: Barnfield • Biscot • Bramingham • Bury Park • Bushmead • Challney • Crawley Green • Farley Hill • Dallow • High Town • Hockwell Ring • Icknield • Leagrave • Lewsey • Limbury-cum-Biscot • Marsh Farm • New Town • Northwell • Putteridge • Round Green • Saints • South ward • Stopsley • Sundon Park • Warden Hills • Wigmore Amenities: Kenilworth Road • Luton Museum • Stockwood Park • Wardown Park • Waulud's Bank Education: Ashcroft High School • Barnfield College • University of Bedfordshire • Cardinal Newman • Denbigh High School • Icknield High School • Luton Sixth Form College • South Luton High School • Woodlands Secondary School |
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