Hatters CEO hopes to see a crowd of 12,000 at Kenilworth Road this season

​Hatters chief executive Gary Sweet is hoping to see Luton’s first home league crowd of more than 12,000 for the first time in over 30 years by the end of the season after the club completed the installation of safe standing in the Oak Road Stand last week.

Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa was witnessed by a season’s high gate of 11,594, 111 higher than the 11,483 that were at Kenilworth Road for the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United last month. Having boosted the capacity by just under 1,500 since winning promotion to the Premier League in May, Sweet insisted the club are continuing to look at improving it further, as they aim to get closer to the 13,140 that were in attendance for a 1-1 Division One draw with Manchester United back in April 1992.

Writing in his programme notes ahead of the game at the weekend, he said: "You will notice that the installation of safe standing in the Oak Road Stand has been fully completed. This process has been a complex but rewarding one that means that over 800 additional seats are now in this area of the ground and it has resulted in us more than doubling the home capacity in this section.

"We challenged the market, leaving no stone unturned, by installing a bespoke design into the Oak – designed in-house and manufactured specifically for our use. No such design exists outside of Kenilworth Road. Perhaps most importantly, the completion of this development means today is likely to see the biggest attendance at Kenilworth Road since we took over custodianship of the club in 2008. Kenilworth Road took its fair share of derision in the summer for being the smallest in the division but that is no longer the case.

"Our fixture against Manchester United saw the biggest league attendance, 11,483, since we played the same club in 1992 and we’ll, hopefully, be able to see an attendance of 12,000 before the season is over. We are in the early stages of investigating into areas of the Enclosure in which we could possibly install the rail seating. We will, of course, update you on any future developments."

On why Luton were spending money on improving a home that has served them since 1905, with plans to build a new ground at Power Court in the next few years, Sweet added: "We’ve had many questions enquiring about why we feel the need to do it now – with such little time left at Kenilworth Road – and whether the cost can be recovered. Firstly, because of the increase in capacity, pay-back would be well under two seasons with the additional benefit of allowing more supporters into the stadium.

"This increase has been made possible by a number of strategies, including increasing the number of usable rows, decreasing the segregation zone, having all standing seats as allocated positions and losing one gangway. But there are other major reasons why we’re doing this now. The most valuable to us is that we’re learning with a view of perfecting a significant standing proportion of our capacity at Power Court.

“It also means we would, by working with the Sports Ground Safety Advisory and our SAG, that confidence in us operating this level of licensed standing will increase safety and enjoyment for our supporters. But, naturally, this will be dependent on everyone using the Oak Road to respect the environment for the greater good. ”