Luton Town

Luton Town FC – Response to John Hill, who attended Luton Town V Huddersfield Town on 2 October 2021

We thank you for your feedback regarding your experience when attending the game against Huddersfield Town on 2nd October. We try to accommodate fans the best we can, and your feedback has encouraged us to look into this issue and see if we can come up with a better solution.

Unfortunately, as you have mentioned the ground is old and we are unable to move the wheelchair disabled area any closer to the away fans or further away from the elements but we will always to try and make any supporters experience enjoyable despite the weather!

We do have ponchos but unfortunately not enough available so we will look to correct this right away. We will also try to look into other options as well for when we do get hit with unfortunate weather. All these things will be a high priority when we look to designing our new stadium at Power Court and we hope you will visit us there in the future.

Alice Kelleher – Disabled Liaison Officer

Luton should be truly ashamed of how they treat disabled supporters. I was expected to sit exposed to the torrential rain on my mobility scooter in the home supporters end. I appreciate it’s an old, crumbling ground but I’m sure they can manage better than that. To be fair to the stewards, they did well trying to address the very angry group of us that were put there, but in the end, my only choice was to either stay there (with the added worry of water getting into my scooter electrics) or walk up & down steps to get into the away end.

Sorry Luton but it’s 2021, not 1921, & you really need to do something rather than make disabled fans put up with that.

The match is next Tuesday but I have to say my experience with Luton Town has left a bad taste in the mouth.

I was told to contact them but not to expect much as the lady in charge of disabled parking was impossible to ring and never answers emails. This has been my experience totally. I tried for over a week to contact her and got no reply. Subsequent phone calls were met with “She’s only part time” or “She will get your email by her phone and contact you immediately” and that she was on “annual holiday” the same day someone else told me she had seen her leave the office just a few hours ago.

I emailed her boss and got a reply next day, surprise. The reply was to say that all disabled parking had been allocated. Utterly useless does not do justice to the complete lack of service provided by this lady, and the constant run around and excuses provided by Luton has shown them to be the worst club I have had to contact as an away fan.

We were allocated four wheelchair spaces all of which were in with the Luton Town supporters.

Parking was provided complimentary at the nearby Beech Hill Primary School play ground which is just a 5 minutes walk to the stadium. This was all on the flat but there was a slope then upto the stadium entrance.

Once inside there are two steep slopes down to the wheelchair enclosure. We did ask the steward for assistance with the wheelchair down the slope but it wasn’t forthcoming. On exiting the stadium then two stewards did assist pushing the wheelchair back up the slopes which was definitely required due to how steep they are.

The wheelchair enclosure was pitch side in the corner down the side of the pitch. The views were ok and although it did rain we didn’t get wet.

Not sure where the food/drink kiosks and toilets were and we were not offered any, nor provided with information, but we managed without.

We were advised if we had any trouble with the Luton supporters just to raise our hands and they would sort it immediately, but they were no trouble at all on this occasion.

I ordered our tickets direct from Luton & also booked a car parking space which Mark kindly emailed me a street map of our parking space.

We found our parking space close to the ground easily and went to the main reception where we were told to collect our ticket, for some unknown reason they had been sent to the away end, but the friendly staff at reception arranged for them to be brought to me. Nice gesture.

Entering the ground at the home end a steward wheeled the wheelchair in for me and then another steward wheeled the wheelchair down the steep ramp. I asked if we could sit in the corner next to the stewards, this was fine and a good view.

I saw the other carers going through the front gate & up a ramp to the teabar but I wasnt allowed. Instead the steward escorted me to the teabar at the back of where we were sitting, and waited for me, I could barely see over the counter so I just bought a bar of chocolate. Definately not wheelchair accessible, nor small people accessible.

Never saw the club shop but there were program sellers walking round the ground.

Toilets were accessible but stewards have to take you.

A good view at pitchside just a shame we couldnt sit with or even near our own supporters.

After the match I asked a steward if he could push the wheelchair up the ramp, He spoke on his radio & someone else came to help but left us up only the first ramp. I tried to push up the outer ramp and couldnt manage it but 2 Luton fans came to my assistance.

The stewards were obviously frightened of the Luton fans but it was a better experience than the last few visits.

We travel by supporters club coaches to away matches. Luton Town was only second to Newport in Nightmare experiences last season in League Two . Obtaining tickets was not an issue as thses were ordered and posted to Howard in advance by Luton Town . Following on from last season we did make contact through Police liason Officer to see if Police could help improve our experience this year which I am pleased to say they did and for we would like to thank officers and staff of Luton Town for arranging. There is as highlighted in other article a problem with access to disabled section . Unless you have motorised chair it is not a pleasant experience . Chair has to be pushed uphill to entrance and then down a steep ramp which is not manageable by one person . This really needs looking at and alternative entrance arranged with club . It is a white knuckle ride to be avoided . Whilst stewards are willing to help , they are young and inexperienced . The Young lad negotiating second downhill ramp lost control of chair and nearly ended up on pitch , but for quick thinking colleague at bottom of ramp . Once you are in section view of pitch is good and stewards could not be more helpful . Chief steward brought two police officers to see us prematch who said they would meet us at end of game and see us safely back to coach . Steward said his staff would get us out of ground at end of game via toilets. All of which much appreciated. What concerns me is what position is re safety licence and exiting ground . We were seated behind a wall . Only exit in case of a fire is via two metal gates either end of wall onto the pitch . in the section itself there is insufficient room for two chairs to pass each other safely . Is this really acceptable to football and local authority and Level Playing Field . At end of game , as per last season it took two stewards and policeman to get chair out of the ground . The Police were excellent they even had a mobile ramp as you see on National Rail to get chair onto pavement and escorted through two mobile steel walls that had created no go area at end of game . So once again thank you to Police and stewards for their help , but club really needs to look at experience itself

We bought our tickets by phone prior to the match & I requested a wheelchair parking space but none were available but I was told we could park in the Beech Hill School playgound 5 minutes awayWe ate at the Leicester Arms, a few minutes away from ground.On arriving at ground we asked a steward where we collected tickets from, Told to go down an alley to main ticket office, On passing the away turnstiles where none of the stewards were talking in English, they approached us so I told them we wanted to collect tickets & they actually had them at the away turnstile. We left the others in our party to try and find a way in, This was round the corner with the home fans and a steward let us in through a gatebut she didnt know where we had to go, Start of another nightmare. Another steward showed us the very steep ramp which we went down to a wheelchair section., pitchside infront of the home fans. we found the disabled toilets but there was no access to the tea bar.Program sellers were continually walking round the ground,There was one other disability scooter (Luton supporter) in the area.The Luton fans were very intimidating and abusive behind us, and all standing and leaning over the boards behind us hammering on them only inches from our heads. I never dared stand up or cheer when we scored our first goal, but the second goal I did & got a load of abuse for it,That place is a living nightmare and must improve. And the stewards could be more helpful, We were completely ignored by them.