Luton Town Chairman David Wilkinson has said defending the Newlands Park judicial review against Capital & Regional will detract from investment the club’s ‘football ambitions this season’, with the January transfer window fast approaching.
The owners of The Mall shopping centre applied to the High Court earlier this month, a move which will further delay progress to both the mixed-use site at junction 10 of the M1 and Power Court, where the Hatters have permission for a new 17,500-seat stadium.
The football club is now awaiting a decision from a judge as to whether the application will progress to a full judicial review hearing, or get thrown out.
But just to get to that stage, could have a huge affect on the club’s ability to strengthen their squad in the next transfer window.
A statement from the Hatters, in response to confirmation of Capital & Regional’s judicial review application earlier this month, eluded to the club’s ‘operational expenditure’ being hit and, writing in his match-day programme notes for the Leeds United Championship clash on Saturday, Wilkinson hinted at the scale of the legal challenge.
He wrote: ‘It goes without saying that the whole progress will waste time and cost a significant amount of cash.
‘For us, just in the first phase, the money will be equivalent to the income derived from all our executive box members for the entire season, which we would clearly prefer to invest in our football ambitions this season.
‘Costs to the Council could be better invested in more positive and productive ways for our community.’
Speaking today, ahead of tomorrow night’s Championship home clash against Charlton, manager Graeme Jones, said: “Since I came to the club, I knew what I was walking into. I think there’s a brutal reality of where we are that I think the majority of people get, but there’s also a reality that we’re maxing out and we need to be optimistic that we can make it work. There’s a reality in that, and I think we are.
“If we’re talking about going back to budgets, there’s a wider spread budget issue in football, I don’t think the money’s evenly spread at all.
“If you think about the Premier League money and if you think about the parachute money coming down, it doesn’t make it a level playing field.
“I think I’m really realistic and I look at the performance from our group of players from the weekend and it showed to me I don’t have to speak about budgets any more because we were really, really good in the game.
“So, January window, or not, I don’t know how much Newlands Park will effect that, but I’m thinking about Charlton at home. I’m sorry to be boring but it’s that and nothing else.”
