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Kenilworth Road is iconic, but the time is right for Luton Town to act

Luton Town gained notoriety during their time in the Premier League for their quirky stadium, Kenilworth Road.

A key reason for that was the ground’s Oak Stand entrance, which sees supporters enter the stadium in the middle of a terraced street, with views of the surrounding houses’ back gardens as you climb up into the stand.

The club had to spend £10m ahead of their one-season Premier League stop just to bring it up to the required standards, but are now planning to build an all-new 25,000-seater stadium.

We asked pundit and former EFL defender Joe Jacobson for his thoughts on just how vital a new ground is for the club’s development.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Jacobson said: “For Luton Town, it's slightly different [to other clubs] because they own the stadium, but it's one of those old stadiums which needs updating, needs improving.

“It has been a fortress for them over the years and a major reason of why they've had the success that they've had is that it’s really intimidating to play in as an away player.

“It's one of those, you know, everyone's seen the entrances, that you have to go through people's gardens to get into the away end and things like that. It's one of those iconic stadiums.

“However, if they do want to start to compete, financially, off the pitch, then they do need to move into a purpose-built stadium.

“I know the Premier League money that they've got and parachute payments will be used to fund that stadium, which is awesome.

“You don't want that money to be wasted and just whittled away on players, on salaries, just to try and get back to the Premier League.

“They're using it wisely and putting it into the stadium, which is fantastic. And once they've got that, they can start to grow the fan base, grow the commercial aspects of the football club, start bringing in bigger revenue to ultimately then pay for the players’ wages on a more sustainable level.

“So, I think it's vital for the football club’s long-term future and that Premier League year will help to go a long way towards that.”

Luton need only look at Brentford and Brighton for inspiration

It has been a recurring theme that promoted sides in recent years have struggled to keep pace with the established Premier League order: something those connected with Luton are only too aware of.

But two clubs, Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, are rare examples who have managed to establish themselves as consistent Premier League outfits following their promotion from the Championship.

Yes, part of that has to do with extremely strong recruitment at both clubs, but it’s also unlikely to be a coincidence that both clubs have had new stadiums in the past 15 years, which will help fund such recruitment.

Building and growing a fan base, while establishing new revenue streams, is key to any club’s financial make-up, and a new stadium with modern facilities is a key way to assist that drive.

As mentioned earlier, the current state of Kenilworth Road cost Luton £10m just to bring it up to the correct standards for the Premier League, a significant sum of money that could have been used elsewhere.

As Jacobson said, Luton are acting smartly to build the stadium while they have the Premier League windfall, rather than frittering that money on players that may only last for a few seasons.

Kenilworth Road is iconic and much-loved, but it’s time for Luton to futureproof the club with the excess funds they’ve earned.