Luton Town has announced that construction is set to begin on its new 25,000-capacity stadium this summer following the signing of a pre-construction services partnership with Limak International.
The Championship football club’s development arm, 2020 Developments, agreed the deal with what is a subsidiary of Ankara-based Limak Holding, one of the world’s leading construction and engineering conglomerates.
Limak hit the headlines back in January 2023, when Spanish LaLiga club FC Barcelona appointed it to carry out the redevelopment of its Spotify Camp Nou stadium. At that time, the appointment was seen as a surprise move with Limak only having experience of building one football stadium, the 25,500-capacity Mersin Arena in Turkey.
Today’s (Wednesday’s) announcement comes after Luton Borough Council’s planning committee in December approved an application from Luton Town to build its new home. The club submitted a detailed planning application in September, with the stadium to be built on the Power Court site, replacing Kenilworth Road as Luton’s home ground.
Town was initially granted planning permission for the stadium in 2019, but chief executive Gary Sweet in May last year said that the revenue generated from the club’s one-season stay in the Premier League would allow it to open the new stadium at maximum capacity.
The Power Court stadium will act as the centrepiece of the wider regeneration of a 20-acre site adjacent to Luton Railway Station. Images released in May 2023 presented the stadium in its first phase of development at a capacity of 19,500, but the plans were revised following the club’s short spell in the Premier League in 2023-24.
In the project’s planning statement, the design of the stadium was said to have “evolved” to result in a “more ambitious brief, which will ultimately achieve the ‘end-vision’ for LTFC on day-one”.
Town stated that the updated outline submission would include a hotel and music venue. The latter has been detailed as having a capacity of 1,800 and a floorspace of up to 2,700sqm, while the hotel, with a floorspace up to 12,000sqm, will accommodate up to 150 rooms.
Town today said it is intended that the new stadium will hold its first competitive game at the start of the 2028-29 season. The wider Power Court project will create more than 1,000 permanent jobs in addition to the hundreds of direct jobs created during the construction phase.
The club said Limak’s involvement will help ensure the stadium is one of the most environmentally sustainable stadiums ever built in the UK, adding it is “aiming for a very high BREEAM rating”.
Sweet said today: “This is a transformative opportunity for the club, helping us realise our ambitions to be a Premier League club again one day. We are united with the supporters on the need for a new stadium to move our Luton Town forward and we are delighted to be moving into this exciting construction phase.
“Importantly, this new stadium project roots us in our community, bringing jobs and investment as part of the wider regeneration of the area. Partnering with a company of Limak’s international standing offers us a global perspective with local delivery. We will collaborate closely with them to ensure the stadium reflects the spirit and needs of the community.
“It has been a long road to this point, but we are so excited at the prospect of welcoming our supporters to Power Court in the near future and the ability to extend our support base and enhance our unique match-day experience.”
Gokalp Kahraman, regional director for the UK & Western Europe at Limak International, added: “Following a competitive tender process, we’re delighted to enter this first phase of the new Power Court development.
“Limak will offer its technical expertise and international experience to guide the project’s early stages and prepare the recruitment of a best-in-class team of trade contractors. We’re incredibly excited to work with the club and its partners to bring its ambitious and impressive vision to life.”
