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Luton Town is one of the greatest stories in sports over the last few days, weeks and months. The professional football (soccer) club is located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England and recently earned promotion from the 2022–23 EFL Championship.
It was a Cinderella story.
Luton Town was purchased for just $7 in 2003. No, seriously. $7.
The club has since filed for bankruptcy not just once, but twice. Luton Town was spending one-third of the amount on wages as their competitors.
It eventually fell to the fifth division in English Football, which is not only the worst league in England, but practically semi-pro. They call it a “non-league.”
And yet, despite the significant discrepancies in wealth and status, a climb began in 2013.
- 2013/14 — Luton won the Conference Premier title and returned to the Football League
- 2016/17 — Luton was promoted to League One
- 2017/18 — Luton secured its second-straight promotion, marking the club’s return to the Championship for the first time in 12 years.
- 2022/23 — Luton secured a place in the Championship playoffs, beat Sunderland on aggregate in the Semifinals, and beat Coventry City 5-6 in the Final at Wembley Stadium on penalties to secure promotion.
- 2023/24 — Luton will compete in the Premier League for the first time ever.
The win over the weekend was not only historic, but exhilarating.
Luton competes at Kenilworth Road. It has been the home of the club since 1905, and is made up of just five stands. It is old, storied and small.
Fans must walk through the backyards of their neighbors to get into the stadium.
Here is how it looks on the inside:
Kenilworth Road has a capacity of 10,356. To put that number in comparison, it is smaller than a high school football stadium in Texas.
Allen High School, plays at Eagle Stadium, in front of a capacity of 18,000.
Eagle Stadium, a high school football field, holds nearly 8,000 more fans than a football club in the English Premier League. Let how remarkable that is really sink in.
Now, because Luton reached the EPL, it must renovate its stadium to meet league requirements. It aims to start groundwork for its new 23,500-capacity stadium before the end of the year.
Still, though, Allen is a high school. Luton is a professional soccer team.
Allen has a bigger stadium than Luton, for now.
