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Luton Town: Premier League promotion could cost £10m

Getty Images Luton Town's Kenilworth Road groundGetty Images
Luton Town will need to make about £10m of improvements to Kenilworth Road if they gain promotion

Promotion to the Premier League could cost Luton Town about £10m in ground improvements, despite work on a new stadium due to start.

The Hatters are currently third in the Championship.

Chief executive Gary Sweet said they would have to "pretty much rebuild" one stand at their Kenilworth Road ground to comply with Premier League requirements.

"It is maybe more of a gargantuan task than building a new stadium," he said.

Defeat for second-placed Sheffield United on Monday and Luton's 3-1 win over Blackpool left the Bedfordshire side well-placed for a play-off place or automatic promotion.

PA Media Luton TownPA Media
The Hatters, currently in the Championship, play at the 10,000-capacity Kenilworth Road stadium

But the Hatters have played at their current site since 1905 and, speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Sweet said it "hasn't changed an awful lot over that time".

"There's rather a lot of work to do," he said.

"We've got about £8m, maybe £10m of improvements to do which is pretty much rebuilding one stand in less than three months, which is some task.

"It's just really to comply with Premier League's broadcasting requirements and some facility requirements that are needed."

Getty Images Gary SweetGetty Images
Gary Sweet said the club "hoped to be putting a spade in the ground" to build the 23,000-seater stadium "at the end of this year or early next"

The club has had planning permission for their new ground at Power Court in the town centre since 2019.

Mr Sweet said the club "hoped to be putting a spade in the ground" to build the 23,000-seater stadium "at the end of this year or early next".

He said the budget for the work was "approaching around £100m".

"It's quite a heavy investment for football at that level for us and will firmly put us into the Premier League bracket," he said.

"But just to be able to get Kenilworth Road ready now, just for maybe two or three years, is maybe more of a gargantuan task than building a new stadium."

2020 Developments Power Court artist impression2020 Developments
Luton Town has planning permission for a 23,000-seater stadium on the site of a former power station in the town centre

​Having missed out on promotion last season after a 2-1 semi-final defeat to Huddersfield, Mr Sweet said that while the club was "really good at keeping our feet planted to the ground" it was "feeling very excited".

"I think our experience last year will certainly be a huge help to us," he said.

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