Luton hoping to welcome back 1,000 fans for Norwich clash

James Collins celebrates scoring against Stoke City back in February, the last time Town had a crowd at Kenilworth Road

Luton Town are hopeful of being able to open their doors once more to 1,000 fans for Wednesday night's home match against Norwich City at Kenilworth Road.

The Hatters have not played in front of a crowd since late February with the social distancing measures in place due to the coronavirus pandemic preventing any supporters attending games up and down the country.

However, with Bedfordshire placed into tier two restrictions this week, it means that a maximum of 2,000 supporters will be allowed to attend live events once lockdown is over on December 2.

Town CEO Gary Sweet told the Luton News they were waiting for approval from the relevant authorities before knowing whether supporters could be welcomed in for the match against the promotion-chasing Canaries, but that appears to be getting closer as a statement on the official website this morning said: "We are excited to be able to inform our loyal supporters that we are close to receiving confirmation that we can welcome some of you back to Kenilworth Road for Wednesday night’s game against Norwich City.

"After nine long months of Covid-19 lockdown and behind-closed-doors football, Thursday’s announcement that Luton is in Tier 2 paved the way for crowds to be able to come back to the Kenny.

"We are now in the final stages of being approved by the relevant authorities to enable us to host a pilot event for 1,000 supporters, as we had hoped to do initially in September before trial matches were halted by the Government.

"Although crowds of up to 2,000 are permitted for Tier 2, an initial ceiling of half that number has been set for Wednesday’s match to allow for the complexities of the layout of our much-loved home, with its limited access points, to be safely tested before numbers are increased.

"We would like to formally and sincerely thank those members of the Council’s Safety Advisory Group who, when called upon, pulled out all the stops and worked diligently to ensure that we could be issued with a safety certificate.

"The ticket office will be contacting 1,000 of our longest-standing season ticket holders from Monday morning to invite them to attend Wednesday’s match.

"It is important to note that supporters who live in Tier 3 areas are not permitted by the UK Government restrictions to travel into Tier 2 to attend football matches.

"We are so appreciative of your constant support and understanding over nine long months, especially from those 7,000 season ticket holders whose financial contribution has helped to keep the club alive.

"We cannot wait to see you back inside the Kenny and thank every single one of you for your patience as we take these final steps towards being able to do so."