|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Luton Town
|
  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Luton Town
|
|
|
| Contents | |
| What's Kenilworth
Road Like? Future Developments Looking Towards The Oak Road Stand (photo) What Is It Like For Away Supporters? Kenilworth Road End (photo) Where To Drink? Executive Stand (photo) How To Get There By Car & Where To Park By Train Admission Prices Fixtures 2012-13 Local Rivals Programme Ground Layout Disabled Facilities Record & Average Attendance Fans Ground Reviews Hotel Accommodation Kenilworth Road Location Map |
|
|
|
|
| What's Kenilworth Road Like? | |
| The
club have been talking about moving to a new stadium for
sometime now and hence investment in Kenilworth Road in
recent years has been neglected. One side of the ground
and one end are small and covered. A Luton fan once told
me that the council would not let the club build any
higher than the surrounding houses. The small end, The
Oak Road Stand, is given to away supporters and this has
a simple electric scoreboard on its roof. The other end
is a large covered all seated stand, which was
originally a terrace. The small side of the ground
(called the Bobbers Stand as entrance once cost a Bob!) is
predominantly filled with a row of executive boxes and
is so small that you can clearly see the houses behind
it. Netting has been suspended between the floodlight
pylons on its roof to reduce the number of footballs
being kicked out of the ground. The other side, the Main Stand, is an older two tiered covered stand. This stand is mostly wooden and is really beginning to show its age, which is not surprising at the central part of the stand dates back to 1922. This Main Stand only runs around two thirds of the length of the pitch with another more recent structure 'bolted' onto one end. This area is known as the 'David Preece Stand' (after a former player) was opened in 1991 and is used a family area. An odd feature are the location of the dugouts which are opposite the players tunnel, resulting in quite a procession across the pitch. Also you will notice that rather than having floodlight pylons at each corner of the ground, as most older grounds have, they are instead featured along each side of the ground. This is a legacy of simply when floodlights were first installed at Kenilworth Road in the 1950's, there was no room in the corners of the ground to incorporate floodlight pylons and hence they had to be installed along the sides. |
|
| Future Developments | |
| The Club have for many years expressed their desire to leave Kenilworth Road and move to a new stadium. Currently a feasibility study is being undertaken to look at possible locations for such a new ground. | |
|
|
|
| What Is It Like For Away Supporters? | |
| The entrance to the Oak Stand must be one of the most unusual in the country. After going down a rather small alleyway at the side of the stadium (or down the cordoned off Oak Road), the impression is of queuing to go into someone's house and then through their back garden and into the stand! Just over 1,500 supporters can be accommodated in this stand and even a small number of fans can really make some noise. The Luton fans who like to sing tend congregating in the Main Stand immediately to the right of the away end, which can make for a good atmosphere. On the downside, there always seems to be a large Police presence, which seems unnecessary for the majority of games, although the Club stewards themselves seemed pretty relaxed. Also there are a number of supporting pillars in this stand, which may hinder your view. The leg room is tight (although I noted that away fans stood throughout on my last visit) and the toilets are small and have seen better days. The refreshments are not bad though, with a good selection of Pukka pies and burgers available. | |
|
|
|
| Where To Drink? | |
| John Pyper informs me; 'The Luton
Bobbers Club at the ground will admit a small
contingent of away fans at the digression of the
committee stewards at a cost of 50p (signing in fee).
The entrance to the club is located between the
turnstiles for away supporters in Oak Road'. With the closure of the Bedfordshire Yeoman pub, there is not a great deal of choice of drinking outlets for away fans near to the ground. Mick O'Sullivan adds; 'A good place to drink is the Beech Hill Conservative Club on Leagrave Road, which welcomes both home and away supporters. To find the club, then with the away entrance in front of you turn left and walk down to the bottom of Oak Road. Proceed through the small arcade of shops opposite and you will see the sign for the club between two shops. It has a large car park (cost £3) and offers reasonably priced beer. You will be charged 50p to go in, but you make it up on the cheaper than pub beer'. Please note that alcohol is not served to away supporters within the ground. Whilst in the town centre on the Bedford Road, only a few minutes walk away from the train station is the English Rose. This CAMRA Good Beer Guide listed pub has received good reports from visiting fans who have drank there. |
|
| Executive Stand | |
|
|
|
| How To Get There By Car & Where To Park | |
| Leave
the M1 at Junction 11 and take the A505 towards Luton.
Go through one set of traffic lights and at the 1st
roundabout, turn right into Chaul End Lane. At the next
roundabout turn left into Hatters Way, whilst continuing
down Hatters Way the ground will be seen on your left,
although it is not accessible from this road. At the end
of Hatters Way turn left and start looking for street
parking from here on (the ground will now be on your
left). Please note that there is a residents only parking scheme in operation near to the ground, so you will have to travel a little further away to find street parking. Map showing the location of the Kenilworth Road Football Ground (at the bottom of this page). Thanks to Roger Butler for providing the directions. |
|
| By Train | |
| Luton railway station is a good 15 minutes walk away from the ground. From the station, turn left along the railway bridge, down the steps, and turn right along Bute Street which runs through the Arndale Shopping Centre. At the top of the centre, bear right along Dunstable Road. Kenilworth Road and the ground is on the left. Thanks to Tom Hunt for providing the directions. | |
| Admission Prices | |
|
All areas of the stadium*: * In the Main Stand Enclosure &
Block G, which is comprised of uncovered seating
Adult tickets are £15, whilst other ticket
prices remain the same. |
|
| Fixtures 2012-2013 | |
| Luton Town FC fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website). | |
| Local Rivals | |
| Watford & Stevenage. | |
| Programme | |
| Official Programme: £3 (away fans purchase them from inside the ground, from sellers on the pitch perimeter). | |
|
|
|
| Disabled Facilities | |
| For details of disabled facilities and club contact at the ground please visit the relevant page on the Level Playing Field website. | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
| 30,069
v Blackpool, FA Cup 6th Round Replay, March 4th, 1959. Modern All Seated Attendance Record*: 10,260 v Leeds United Championship League, October 21st, 2006. * This record was subsequently equalled against Sunderland on May 6th 2007. Average Attendance: 2011-2012: 5,858 (Blue Square Premier) 2010-2011: 6,242 (Blue Square Premier) 2009-2010: 6,931 (Blue Square Premier) |
|
| Fans Reviews Of Kenilworth Road | |
| Ben
Scott (Forest Green Rovers) 9/2/13 Scot Rowland (Tamworth) 18/2/12 Dan Phillips (Port Vale) 9/8/08 |
|
| Hotel Accommodation | |
| If you require hotel
accommodation in the area then first try a hotel
booking service provided by Late
Rooms. They have a huge choice of
places to stay and their booking facility is
straightforward to use. Yes this site will earn a
small commission if you book through them, but it
will go to help with the running costs of keeping
the Guide going. Access their Luton Hotels and Guest Houses page. Remember that you can use the above link or panel below to book any other hotels that you may need for business or leisure, either in the UK or abroad. |
|
| Map
Showing The Location Of Kenilworth Road, Railway
Station And Listed Pubs |
|
|
Instructions for using
the map:
|
|
| Feedback | |
| If
anything is incorrect or you have something to add,
please e-mail me duncan@footballgrounds.net
and I'll update the guide. |
|
|
|
|
All rights reserved
Last Updated : 25 February 2013
