The Premier League could have a new smallest club should Luton Town be promoted from the Championship this season.
The Hatters face off with Coventry City in the Championship play-off final, having booked their place at Wembley with a narrow 1-0 win over Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Tuesday.
Should they be promoted, Luton would need to spend around £10m just to get their current ground, Kenilworth Road, up to the standards required by the Premier League, with one entrance currently through a terraced house.
If Luton do manage to go up, they need to spend £10m to get Kenilworth Road @premierleague ready. While preparing to build a new stadium at Power Court. pic.twitter.com/hJWRw7jScs
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) May 16, 2023
But would either side be the smallest in Premier League history?
In short, yes. While Coventry’s Ricoh Arena boasts a capacity of over 40,000, Luton would become the smallest ever side to earn a place in the top flight,
Kenilworth Road is currently able to hold just over 10,000 people, with an official capacity of 10,356.
Also towards the bottom are Oldham Athletic (13,559), Swindon Town (14,700) and Blackpool (16,220).
Luton, however, would not be the smallest club by population. That award goes fellow promoted side Burnley, whose population stands at just over 73,000 people, though Turf Moor can accomodate almost one-quarter of those in it’s 20,000 capacity.
By contrast, Luton boasts a massive 218,000 people according to a 2019 survey, just under three times the population of the Lancastrian side.
So, while they will have the smallest ground in Premier League history should they find themselves into the English top flight, Luton won’t quite break the record for smallest side (by population) in the history of the competition.
