- Kenilworth Road
Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = Kenilworth Road
fullname = Kenilworth Road Stadium
nickname = The Kenny, The Shed
built = 1905
opened = 1905
seating_capacity = 10,200
tenants =Luton Town F.C.
dimensions = 110 x 72 yardscoord|51|53|03.08|N|0|25|54.02|W|type:landmark|display=titleUnreferenced|date=September 2008,
Kenilworth Road is a
stadium inLuton ,England which is home toLuton Town F.C. , a professional football team in the EnglishFootball League Two . The stadium is situated in theBury Park area of the town and is named after the road which runs along one end of it though its address is actually 1 Maple Road. The capacity of the stadium is 10,200 all seated though crowds of up to 30,000 were accommodated before the seating was installed, the record crowd being 30,069 in 1959 for anFA Cup game against Blackpool. The ground is generally disliked by visiting supporters as it is very basic and has had very limited modernisation.Fact|date=September 2008The club moved to Kenilworth Road in 1905, playing their first match against Plymouth Argyle. On
September 10 2005 , at home to Wolves, the club celebrated its a hundredth year at Kenilworth Road.Developments
The main stand was replaced following a fire in 1921 and was extended in 1937 with the purchase of
Kempton Racecourse stand and has remained, aside for safety requirements being met, unchanged ever since, and the Bobbers stand was removed in 1986 to make way for executive boxes. The Oak Road end which houses the away fans is somewhat odd. Fans must enter by going underneath a part of a terraced house, then they climb a staircase that overlooks many houses and gardens, before they enter the stand which, like the rest of the old ground, has poor facilities, and this stand has remained largely unaltered, save the change to an all-seater stand. The New Stand, renamed the David Preece Stand in May 2008, was a corner stand added in 1991, and has become the designated 'family zone' with 700 seats available. The Kenilworth Stand was a terrace that held over 16,000 before it had a roof added in 1986, and then with the change to an all seater stand, its capacity dwindled. However, in 2005, 550 extra seats where added to the Kenilworth Road end, taking the capacity of the whole ground to 10,200.Kenilworth Road had an artificial pitch added in 1985, and it was removed later following the FA's decision to ban artificial surfaces in 1991. However, the Hatters enjoyed the best time of their long history during the mid Eighties, and the top teams inEngland at the time hated going to Kenilworth Road due to the intense atmosphereFact|date=September 2008. After a riot at the ground by the hooligan element amongst the Millwall fans, which also included hooligans from West Ham and Chelsea in 1985, led Luton to impose a blanket ban on visiting supporters, for which the Football League expelled them from theLeague Cup . Fact|date=September 2008Future Development
It has been obvious to the club that the stadium hasn't been financially viable for years, even before the successes of the 1980s the club was looking for a new site. During this time there were protests by supporters over a proposed move to
Milton Keynes . Eventually fan power won, but the club has fallen into decline ever since, and the change to all seater stadium left Luton no room to improve Kenilworth Road. Despite this, the club has only managed to get as far as planning application once, in the late 1990s for the 'Kohler Dome' under then chairmanDavid Kohler . Fact|date=September 2008The club sold the ground to Luton Borough Council as their decline in fortunes and finance begun. The current lease is believed to run until the summer of 2014, and with the council having already waited for 15 years for a site they wish to develop, it remains to be seen whether or not they will extend the lease if a suitable site hasn't been developed for the club. Fact|date=September 2008
Currently, the club is undertaking an independant feasibilty study to determine a viable location to move to as part of the plans of the 2020 Mission. The previous, corrupt, owners of the club were hoping to move to a new purpose built stadium, at Junction 12 of the M1, near Harlington and Toddington. The local authorities would prefer to see the stadium built at Junction 11A, once it is completed.
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