One mile west of Luton town centre, in the district of Bury Park, sits Kenilworth Road Stadium – a 12,000 all-seater ground that has been the home of Luton Town Football Club since 1905. Despite its official address being 1 Maple Road, the stadium takes its widely used name from the road running along one end of the ground. Locally it is known simply as the Kenny.
A Ground with Deep Roots
Luton Town arrived at Kenilworth Road under urgent circumstances. Their previous ground at Dunstable Road was sold for housing at short notice by their landlord, prompting the club’s directors to quickly secure a new site. The first match at the new ground took place on 4 September 1905, a 0-0 draw against Plymouth Argyle. The move proved immediately beneficial: after finishing second from bottom in their final season at Dunstable Road, Luton finished fourth in the Southern League in their first season at Kenilworth Road. The stadium originally carried the name Ivy Road before adopting its current identity. Floodlights were installed in 1953, and the ground became fully all-seated in 1991. The record attendance of 30,069 was set in 1959, during an FA Cup sixth round replay against Blackpool.
Landmark Moments and Notable Features
The stadium has seen considerable change over the decades. The original Main Stand, which had a press loft and a balcony above the roof, burned down in 1921 and was replaced before the 1922-23 season. That replacement stand was divided into two tiers: wooden seats above, with a smoking ban in place, and terracing below, known as the Enclosure. Major renovation work in the late 1930s extended the Kenilworth End terrace, added a roof to the Oak Road End, and addressed significant disrepair in the Main Stand. The ground is well known for the unusual entrance to the Oak Road End, and for the five-season ban on away supporters that Luton Town introduced following a riot by visiting fans in 1985. Beyond league football, Kenilworth Road has hosted women’s and youth international matches, including the second leg of the 1984 European Competition for Women’s Football final. The stadium saw Football League matches from 1920 until Luton’s relegation to the Conference Premier in 2009, then again from 2014 onwards. With the club’s promotion to the Premier League in 2023, Kenilworth Road hosted its first top-flight match in September 2023, against West Ham United.