Football Focus Issue 68 | Page 48

Luton Town
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in the EFL Cup , before losing narrowly to another , Leeds United , in round two .
Off the field things are starting to take shape for the Bedfordshire club too , with plans to leave Kenilworth Road – their home since 1905 – for a new 17,500-capacity stadium in the town centre .
The club ’ s property arm , 2020 Developments ( Luton ) Ltd , have purchased land known as Power Court , and a site next to Junction 10 of the M1 motorway , for which they have submitted two planning applications that Luton Borough Council are expected to give a decision on in early 2017 .
It is hoped that the latter , Newlands Park , will be home to a mixed-use development featuring high-end retail outlets , office space , a hotel and leisure facilities , and that will finance the building of the new stadium at Power Court , the derelict site of a former power station next to the town ’ s train station , by the year 2020 .
An independent report by leading accountancy firm KPMG predicts the two projects combined will bring an annual £ 250m boost to the local economy and create over 10,000 new jobs .
In the coming weeks the club ’ s players will be rehoused at a new training ground in the town known
as The Brache , while the Luton Town Community Trust picked up an award at the prestigious Luton Best Awards 2016 for their work on programmes that engage 3,500 individuals each week in local schools , colleges , youth groups and voluntary organisations . For a club that nine years ago was bought out of administration by Luton Town 2020 Ltd , a consortium of supporters , and eventually brought back from the abyss of Non-League football , the future is bright … and definitely orange !
48 Issue 67