Kenilworth Road is crumbling but deserves a Premier League chance

The cramped stadium – like Luton the town – attracts ridicule but Saturday’s playoff final is a huge sliding doors moment

Luton Town fans on the pitch after the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi-Final Second Leg match between Luton Town v Sunderland at Kenilworth Road on May 16, 2023 in Luton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

SHORTLY before 8pm last Tuesday, a remarkable act of transfiguration took place at Kenilworth Road. At that precise moment, Luton’s cramped and crumbling old stadium, with a capacity barely above 10,000, became a raging, roaring, hot-headed monster. 

The noise barely stopped for the next 90 minutes, at which point Luton’s players had seen off Sunderland and were heading to a playoff final at Wembley – and the jokes and sneers about their old ground had resurfaced again on social media.