Luton CEO confirms Power Court remains on hold but 2020 Developments Ltd should be 'relatively unchallenged' by coronavirus

An artists impression of Luton's new ground at Power CourtAn artists impression of Luton's new ground at Power Court
An artists impression of Luton's new ground at Power Court | jpimedia
Sweet confident of pushing ahead with new stadium once pandemic is over

Luton chief executive Gary Sweet has revealed that he expects 2020 Developments Ltd, the property arm of the Hatters which is responsible for building Power Court and Newlands Park, to come through the coronavirus pandemic relatively unscathed.

With the football season currently suspended until April 30 at the earliest due to the outbreak, clubs’ incomes have taken a huge hit, with no match-day revenue or season ticket sales to speak of.

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That date will no doubt be extended further at another EFL meeting this week, and with the country currently in lockdown, it means Town can't go ahead with their plans to build their new 17,500 stadium at Power Court, or mixed use scheme at Newlands Park, which were both given the green light earlier this year.

Although Sweet admitted earlier this month that the developments are currently on hold, he reasurred supporters over any long term worries, saying: “It’s only on hold while we go through this particular period.

“We are through the difficult bit, the good news is we are through the difficult bit.

“We have land ownership, we have freehold ownership of that land, we have got an uncontended planning permission.

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“So I’m not saying it’s easy, but when we do come out of this, the world cannot stop revolving.

“The wheels of commerce will still continue, and whilst there was cash available to spend in these markets beforehand, I’m sure there is going to be cash available to spend in those markets afterwards.

“Of course, we might have to have a review of one or two of those things, but I can assure people that actually the property side of the business, because there is only a very small fixed cost in that, is going to be relatively unchallenged by the problem until we can come back and start to push forward.”

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