Can Luton Town play in the Premier League with its stadium? The magic of Kenilworth Road is not enough for the Premier League standards

As Luton Town reached the English Championship Play-offs, many football fans (re)discovered the unique charm of Kenilworth Road, the stadium nestled between the terrace houses in the north London town. First, the team won the semi-final against Sunderland, and on Saturday in the Final, they beat Coventry City on penalties, in front of 85,000 spectators at Wembley. Lo and behold, Kenilworth Road does not have 85 thousand seats, it also does not have many other things that are essential for the team to be able to play in its historic stadium, and now that the Premier League goal is real, the club is moving forward with a last minute plan to bring the facilities up to standard, while retaining the identity of the facility and its entrances overlooking the inner gardens of the brick terraced houses.

The press room at Kenilworth Road will have to be rebuilt, too few 29 seats, with the Premier asking for 70, plus 50 for the world's media. Luton Town's stadium is not even equipped to accommodate the 15 commentary positions and the same number for radio commentary, as well as the 7 positions for commentary from the sidelines. During the Play-off semi-final return match against Sunderland, the stadium could not contain the media turnout, and some journalists found themselves watching the game from the screens and others directly from the stands. Kenilworth Road and its charms seem to elude football's technology, even the VAR will have to be installed from scratch in the months between the promotion party and the first game at the next station, scheduled for 12 August.  

Fortunately, some work is already at an advanced stage, having already been started 12 months ago when Luton Town came close to promotion by losing in the semi-final to Huddersfield Town. The Football Association and the Premier League then allow stadium expansions to be done gradually, to allow clubs to play in their own stadium and not have to look for other facilities. Kenilworth Road is the image of football that seems to be preserved in a time capsule, waiting to host Manchester City, Arsenal or United, less than three months away to make this home even more fascinating to the eyes of guests, never the better term to describe Kenilworth Road.