Gary Sweet reacts when asked if Luton Town fans would fill new 25,000 Power Court stadium | OneFootball

The Hatters are set to move to their new stadium by 2027

Luton Town CEO Gary Sweet remains confident that the club will be playing its football in front of a regularly packed-out Power Court stadium, with the Hatters hoping to have moved into their new stadium within the next two years.

It has been an extremely tumultuous handful of seasons for the Bedfordshire side, who currently find themselves back at League One level for the first time since the 2018/19 campaign after suffering back-to-back relegations.

Just two seasons ago, Luton completed one of the most 'fairytale' of English football stories by competing in the Premier League after a dramatic penalty-shootout victory over Coventry City in the 2023/24 Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

There is a school of thought amongst some sections of the Kenilworth Road support that their club didn't fully grasp the opportunity with both hands, as they were immediately relegated back into the EFL before enduring a disastrous campaign back in the second tier under Rob Edwards and Matt Bloomfield.

Sweet recently made his latest significant call as chief executive, with Bloomfield the latest man to receive his P45 in charge of Luton, swiftly being replaced by former Arsenal and England international midfielder, Jack Wilshere, in what is the 33-year-old's first full-time managerial role after previously working as assistant to Johannes Hoff Thorup at Norwich City prior to a brief spell in interim charge at Carrow Road at the back end of last season.

Unsurprisingly, the Hatters were backed by many to mount an immediate return to the Championship, yet they currently find themselves in 10th place after 13 games played, six points behind AFC Wimbledon in sixth.

Yet, whilst achieving the aforementioned goal is at the top of Sweet's priorities, it is hard to ignore the pending move to Power Court, which will boast a capacity of 25,000 spectators when completed.

Speaking to independent Luton Town-themed blog, Oak Road Hatter, the 61-year-old backs the development to become a success.

Gary Sweet confident that Luton Town can sell out upcoming 25,000-capacity Power Court stadium

Talk of Luton moving into the new stadium began several years ago, during which they found themselves as low as League Two level after returning to the EFL in 2014.

The Power Court development has seen plenty of revisions since initially being put forward back in 2017, which has seen its capacity altered from an initial 17,500 figure to what is expected to be 25,000.

Such a capacity was confirmed in December 2024, as well as the timescale for opening being the beginning of the 2027/28 season, with Limak International responsible for the construction process.

At present, Luton play their home fixtures at the historic Kenilworth Road, a ground which has become infamous, particularly due to the fact away supporters must enter the Oak Road Stand underneath terraced housing, whilst having a view of gardens on their way from the concourse to their viewing position.

The official capacity of 'The Kenny' is said to be 11,050, making it the 11th-smallest in League One, and it would be the smallest in the Championship at present too.

Although Power Court will hold more than double said capacity, Sweet has no concerns about empty seats, and is, instead, relishing the challenge of trying to entice more of the Town's reported 224,000 population to the stadium.

"I actually can’t wait for the challenge of having empty seats. We haven't had empty seats for a long time, for a large number of years, and we really want that challenge and want to be able to grow our fanbase. It’s really hard to grow your fanbase when you have a stadium the size of Kenilworth Road," he said.

"Having a stadium the size of Kenilworth Road puts us right at the bottom of the pyramid when you look at capacities. Power Court puts us in about the third quarter of the Championship. I know one or two have said ‘It’s too big for us’, but other people have said ‘It’s not enough’. I think both are right in some ways, but our ambition is greater than being in the third quarter of the Championship.

"We want to be higher than that. So actually 25,000 seats is the right number for us, it’s the right business model because of the amount of money we are saving by avoiding longer term disruption. It gives us the opportunity to actually grow our fanbase and we've done an awful lot of research to know that that fanbase is there, not just in those that exist, but also how we can grow our fanbase," Sweet stated.

There has been a real change in terms of expectation levels for Luton in the past two seasons.

No longer are they perennial 'underdogs', which have clearly taken some time to get used to, despite the fact their current stadium has barely changed barring a new temporary stand which was built in 2023 to align with Premier League regulations.

Despite being in the second of three seasons where they will receive parachute payments from the Premier League, Luton remain restricted in terms of the revenue they can generate, with Kenilworth Road certainly holding the club back in that regard.

No doubt it will be an emotional day when the final competitive fixture is played there in two years time, but supporters and the hierarchy will understand that the club can grow extra revenue streams which, in turn, allows for a greater transfer and wage budget, which helps attract a better calibre of player, particularly if Wilshere is able to steer the club back to the Championship on the pitch.