Kenilworth Road: Luton Town

Barry Ephgrave [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Kenilworth Road became the home of Luton Town in 1905 after the club left their previous stadium, Dunstable Road. The ground has enjoyed a colourful history since then, including the hosting of both women’s football and youth international matches. It takes its name from the road which runs along one of the stadium’s ends, though randomly its address is not actually Kenilworth Road but rather Maple Road.

Luton Town Football Club has also enjoyed a remarkably colourful and interesting past. From trophy wins to promotions and relegations via financial crises and more. The club’s claim to fame, such as it is, is that it was the first team from Southern England to turn professional, something that it did fully in 1891.

Stats

Kenilworth Road Photos

• View from stands View from stands
• Entrance to Kenilworth Road Entrance to Kenilworth Road
• The Bobbers Stand in 1980 The Bobbers Stand in 1980
• The Oak Road End in 1980 The Oak Road End in 1980
• The Luton Town squad 1897–98 The Luton Town squad 1897–98
• Kenilworth Road Opening Game 1905 Kenilworth Road Opening Game 1905
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Kenilworth Road Seating Plan & Where to Sit

There are technically five stands at Kenilworth Road. The Kenilworth Stand used to be an uncovered terrace section but is now a fully covered seating area, The Main Stand is adjoined by the David Preece Stand which links the two, and The Oak Road End is where the away fans are housed. Finally The Executive Stand runs along one side of the pitch and is made up of 25 executive boxes but no seats for regular supporters, which is unusual.

Luton Town Ticket Prices

Luton Town categorise their match ticket prices depending on the opposition, with the bigger teams classed as Category A, the smallest Category C and the rest Category B. However, since the only other thing that affects the cost of your seat is your age, it's still relatively easy to keep track of. Below are the adult and concession prices for all three categories:

• Adult Cat A/B/C: £32.00/£26.00£/20.00
• Concessions Cat A/B/C: £24.00/£20.00/£15.00

Further discounts are available for juniors and those over 75

How To Get Luton Town Tickets

You can buy your tickets online, over the phone by calling the ticket office, dropping into the ticket office in person, or from the supporters’ shop. They even offer friendly advice on where the best seat for you would be if you are new to the stadium

Where to Buy

Getting To Kenilworth Road

Luton is, essentially, one of London’s commuter towns so it’s reasonably easy to get to if you live down South. Here are the most common methods of transport for you to consider:

Train - Luton Railway Station is about ten minutes from the ground and is served by all of the big stations in London. It takes between 40 minutes and an hour to get there from the capital.

Bus - The number 31 runs from the centre of town and will drop you close to the stadium.

Car - From the North take the M1 and leave at Junction 11 for the A505, stick on that until you get to the ground. From the South join the M1 from the M25 at Junction 21A then follow the same instructions. From the East leave the A1(M) at Junction 8 then get on the A602 before the A505. From the West take the A505 and wait until you see the signs or the ground itself.

By Air - London Luton Airport is about fifteen minutes from Luton by bus and train.

Taxi - A taxi from the station to the ground will take just under ten minutes and cost about £5.

Parking Near Kenilworth Road

There’s no car park at the ground and limited on-street parking nearby. Your best bet is a multi-storey car park in Luton centre.

• See Available Parking Near Kenilworth Road

Useful Resources

Kenilworth Road Hotels

As a commuter town Luton is built for people who don’t want to stay in London but want the convenience of its use. Here are some hotels for you to consider:

OYO London Luton - £50+

1 Mill Street, Luton, LU1 2NA

Half a mile from the stadium is this OYO Hotel. It’s a 3 star establishment with 44 guest rooms, a bar, free Wi-fi and free parking. It’s also not far from Whipsnade Zoo, if you fancy a trip somewhere fun. More details.

Thistle Express London Luton - £64+

The Mall, Bedfordshire, Luton, England, LU1 2TR

This 3-star hotel is bang in the middle of town and offers a restaurant, a bar, free Wi-Fi and free parking. It has a great reputation for cleanliness too. More details.

Leaside Hotel - £97+

72 New Bedford Road, Luton, England, LU3 1BT

The Leaside Hotel is a place to enjoy as much as a place to stay. With a very trendy bar, Mediterranean food options and a great terrace to sit and watch the sun go down after a day at the footy. It's close to the ground, has very high cleanliness standards, and comes with conveniences like free wifi, parking, air con, laundry facilities and a restaurant. More details.

Pubs & Bars Near Kenilworth Road

Luton may not have the bright lights of London, but it’s not exactly a rubbish place to go for a drink. Here are some of our favourite options:

Facilities

Luton Town have been trying to leave Kenilworth Road for years, so they’ve neglected improving the facilities for some time. To put it politely, there are significantly better grounds in the Football League.

Prices

• Programme: 3.50
• Pie: 3.90
• Cup of tea: 2.10
• Beer: 4.00

Hospitality

Aside from the executive boxes there are four main places that host match day hospitality experiences at Kenilworth Road. The Trophy Room promises a pre-match chat with coaching staff, a three-course meal and half-time refreshments; The Eric Morecambe Lounge offers a two-course carvery before the game and the chance to meet the Man Of The Match; whilst the Millennium Suite has a hot and cold buffet, half-time refreshments and a private cash bar. Finally, The John Moore Lounge has a private bar and offers you the chance to buy food.

To be brutally honest, the hospitality options at Kenilworth Road are a little tired, especially for a top level team, but their proposed move to a new stadium will hopefully change this when they eventually build it.

Private Hire

The Eric Morecambe and John Moore Lounges are both available for hire, as is the Joe Payne Boardroom. Conferences, presentations, receptions, product launches and AGMs have all been hosted at the ground in the past; they even do weddings.

Stadium Tours & Museum

As things currently stand, tours of Kenilworth Road are on hold, but they may be available via direct contact with the club. They certainly used to happen, and were relatively cheap at £15 for adults and £10 for children, with the dressing rooms, the player's tunnel, the pitch, and the trophy cabinet all being stops on the tour.

About Luton Town

The Hatters were formed in 1885 when two local teams, Luton Town Wanderers and Excelsior, merged together. It was the first Southern team to turn fully professional and was one of the founding members of the Southern Football League. It then left that in order to help form the United League, before joining the Football League in 1897.

The club’s nickname comes from the city’s connection to the hat making trade, prominent in Luton since the 17th century. Luton Town lost the FA Cup final in the 1958-1959 season but claimed their first major trophy when they won the League Cup in 1988. They nearly won it again the following season, losing to Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest in the final.

Kenilworth Road History

Luton Town may have stayed at Dunstable Road, their previous stadium, indefinitely had the landlord not sold the site that it was built on for housing at short notice. The director’s of the club quickly procured a new site and Kenilworth Road was built on it in time for the 1905-1906 season. The Main Stand burnt down in an accident in 1921, with the stand as we know now built in time for the 1922-1923 campaign.

The stadium is well-known for two reasons: Firstly it installed an artificial pitch in 1985 at a cost of £350,000. Opposition teams didn’t like it and in 1989 the club was forced to replace it after a Football League Commission decided it had suffered excessive wear and tear. They replaced it, only to have to rip the new artificial pitch up when they were banned from the English game in 1991. The second thing it’s known for is the four season ban on away fans that Luton imposed from the start of the 1986-1987 season. It resulted in them being thrown out of the League Cup in the first season of the ban.

Future Developments

Luton Town have been wanting to leave Kenilworth Road since the mid-1990s. In December of 2015 the club announced its preferred location - Power Court in the centre of Luton, and in 2019 the council finally signed off on the deal. It was hoped that they will move into the new 23,000 seater stadium in time for the start of the 2020-2021 campaign, but this was pushed back to 2024, and then pushed back again to 2026.

With their promotion to the Premier League for the 2023/24 season, the move seems likely to actually happen by this latest deadline, especially since the club committed to it prior to the promotion 'regardless of league position'.