With two giant cranes now up at Power Court and a hive of activity on the site, these are exciting times for us all, for the club and for the town! We spoke to Tom Moroney, Power Court Project Manager, about what we can expect to see over the coming months – and about his role as he co-ordinates the project for the club, working with a whole host of expert teams.

Hi Tom – could you start by explaining what your role is, please?

I’m responsible for the project management of the stadium and site-wide development, acting on behalf of – and with – Luton Town and 2020 Developments. This includes overseeing design, programme management, cost control and coordination among all stakeholders. It’s a huge project, with 45 consultant teams and around 200 professionals working on it behind the scenes in addition to on-site contractors and trades. And my role – with my team – is to make sure it all works together smoothly and efficiently.

What is your background?

I’m a civil engineer and have run my own consultancy business since 2018. I was born and raised in County Galway, Ireland, and grew up in a big family – five boys and two girls. Our family life was always full of sport. We were brought up with the Irish Gaelic games and football, and our evenings after school were spent kicking a ball around the field. There were enough of us for two mini teams! It was a happy childhood, with the freedom to do what we wanted and run around playing in the fresh air, something you remember all your life. I was educated in Galway, studying Civil Engineering with Project Management and I came over to the UK in 2003, young and eager to put roots down and get settled into a new community. Sport is a great thing for that, when you’re involved and playing football and hurling in my case, it opens up so many avenues for you. I always encourage my kids with that and they’re fanatically into sport. My son, he’s a good Luton fan, and I’m a convert too through my involvement with the club – I was an Aston Villa fan growing up, as they had such a strong contingent of Irish players, and I knew that Tony ‘Paddy’ Grealish, one of my heroes, had played for Luton too.

So how did you become involved with the club?

I’d worked with Martin Maloney, who runs Capital Sky, for around 15 years before we set up our own companies. Martin was involved in works at Kenilworth Road for some time leading up to that 2023 Premier League promotion – as well as plans for the new stadium. A great thing to work on! He’d told me about those plans and that he might need some help. That play-off final weekend, I was back to my family in Ireland, and we were sitting watching the final on TV. The game was hardly over with that penalty shoot-out when Martin texted me and said, “I need you up here Monday morning.”  I’d been on site the week before but that morning we walked in, Gary Sweet and Michael Moran were there and basically said, ‘get to work!’ So that was the start of my company’s serious involvement with Luton, project managing and coordinating the Bobbers rebuild, helping with the delivery of the programme and the technical aspects. It was a mad summer, an intense few months, very demanding, bringing all the pieces together – but it was fun too because there was no leeway, with Gary and Michael leading it. Failure wasn’t an option! It had to be done and done on time. But that’s the way we work, the way we were brought up: to make things happen. So that first game against West Ham, we were all there, right up until kick-off working on last-minute details but it was one of the most exciting and fulfilling projects we’ve been involved in – and that ethos has been carried on into Power Court. Gary and Michael are very focussed on delivery right down to the last detail.

One of the things they’re committed to is retaining the character and the legacy of Kenilworth Road with its special atmosphere and unique design. Power Court will be a unique stadium, too. It’s not got the tall roofs pointing upwards you find in many modern stadiums, ours are different – they point downwards to retain the atmosphere. I don’t think anywhere else has that. The roof geometry is one of my favourite parts of the stadium, how it all sits together and locks in the different stands. And the corner pods which separate them, they’re another unique feature. At some other grounds everything looks the same all round but not at Power Court, and the aim is also for fans to feel closer to the pitch and the game, like they are at Kenilworth Road. There’s the halo, as well, which is going to be a big part of the identity of the ground that people will identify with for generations to come – Luton Town, the ground with the halo, unique and very ‘Hatters’.

The location is brilliant too. Right in the centre of the town. You couldn’t be more central. It’ll bring so much regeneration; it’s the uplift the town needs, it’ll create a vibe of its own and be a focal point for so much. Once regeneration starts, it spreads, it attracts more regeneration. New businesses, new jobs, new entertainment and retail. Things people want to be part of, for the people of Luton – football fans or not – to be proud of and identify with, so they’ll go to town and spend their money there, not travelling elsewhere. The aesthetics will be superb too: the landscaping, the opening up of the river – that’s already looking fantastic; then there’s the music venue, the retail and restaurants, the hotel, the bars and pub within the ground, the residential with 1,200 new homes creating a whole new community. And it’s not just for match days – the stadium is configured for concerts and other events, with technology future proofed for all sorts of events. So much thinking and work has gone into every aspect of design. As I said before, there are 45 teams of consultants working on it now, with hundreds of specialists from every area including aspects like acoustics and artwork, alongside the technical and construction teams, all creating the whole experience of the new ground. People can’t see that right now, but they’ll see the results as the build progresses.

Two giant cranes are in place now – what else can we expect to see over the coming months?

Everything is on target and in some areas we’re ahead of it. So, in the next couple of months, you’ll be seeing real visible progress above ground. The first tower crane is to serve the West Stand, where we’re progressing the foundations. There’s piling, those are 25-metre-long deep foundations, drainage, the West Stand substructure. And in May or early June – so very soon – you’ll see the superstructure appearing out of the ground, the columns coming up, and then that begins on the South Stand too, and so on around the ground. That’s the RC – reinforced concrete – frame rising up, then the precast terraces which are transported to the site and lifted in with cranes. Towards the end of this year, you’ll start to see the structural steel frame and roof being erected and installed with the roof coverings and on up to that distinctive halo. That work will continue into spring 2027, so around this time next year the whole thing will have taken shape – and then we move to the cladding and glazing and the whole picture of what our new home will be like will become clearer. It’s fantastic. Meanwhile, there’s a whole host of works inside, with mechanical and electrical, plant and equipment, the tech, the speakers, big screens, all the elements of the matchday experience. So much goes into a modern stadium. Take the wi-fi for instance, with 25,000 people connecting on their phones at the same time – so that has to be top class! Security is a massive consideration these days, too, and the design is so clever with anti-terrorism elements that are there but not obvious – I believe our Head of Security Barney talked about that in a previous interview.

So, my role is co-ordinating all the teams working on this and liaising with our construction partners. We’ve assembled such a strong and experienced team to make sure it all happens smoothly and on budget. We have AECOM as lead designers, they set industry standards worldwide and have vast experience and expertise, as have our structural engineers AKT II. Capital Sky, who are delivering the groundworks and the superstructure, and then there’s Limak International, whose role is to bring in and manage the trade contractors, covering everything from the pitch to seating, electrics and so on. We sit alongside them all and make sure it all happens and that there are no weak links. We monitor the programme and its progression to works, and the quality as well to ensure that it's all in place and conforms with all the planning and building regulations with Luton Council, Building Control and all the legislation you have with stadiums like SGSA – Sports Ground Safety Authority – and so on for planning and operational requirements. There's a lot! Stadiums are unique because you have so many interfaces and so many regulatory bodies that you have to coordinate with to allow you to get your permits for opening in place. We’ll be running test events in early summer 2028, ready for opening for the start of the 2028/29 season and everything is on track. It takes a lot of hard work, discipline, problem solving, and the ability to answer challenges but that’s what the people we’ve brought together do. Gary and Michael have ensured that they're very hands on and totally focused and have brought together such a strong development and design team. On the residential side, you’ll have four plots – A, B, C and D – with a combined total of 1,200 units. Plot A will be released within a year of the stadium opening and then a year after Plot B, and the next year Plot C and then Plot D. So, all done within a few years of the stadium opening, along with the hotel and the music venue, which is another exciting new development for the town.

It’s fantastic seeing and hearing your enthusiasm Tom – and to get some insight into the incredible amount of work and detail that’s going into every aspect of delivering Power Court. And so brilliant that we’re about to see things taking shape above ground in the next few weeks and months!

Yes, well, it’s a privilege to be involved in something that’s going to bring new life and huge social and economic benefits to the town. Luton took something of a battering with Vauxhall closing but this is the start of a fantastic new era, with Power Court at the heart of all the regeneration that’ll transform the town – you can see it happening now. Luton is so well positioned, with huge potential, a great location near London, perfect to create new prospects and prosperity, fantastic communities and spirit and brilliant connectivity with two stations on the stadium’s doorstep, the transport interchange and the airport expansion. Power Court is for now and for many future generations too – it’ll be something for everyone to be proud of, and a worthy successor to our wonderful Kenilworth Road with its long and eventful history. Back when the new Bobbers opened, I took my then six-year-old son along to his first Premier League game, and Gary spotted us outside. He took my son into the club shop, asked him which shirt he would like and presented him with it. I had to tell him that he was the man who ran the club: you wouldn’t get that elsewhere! He became a Luton fan that day. That’s something I love; it’s a family club with that closeness and sense that we’re in this together and it’s something very special.

Finally, have you got a message for us supporters, Tom?

In construction as in football, I’ve learned that you have to be patient, to work hard – and when you do things properly, you’ve got good management and a vision, you’ll get through the challenges, the ups and the downs. We’ve seen plenty of those of course, even in my short time here. Put in the hard graft and you’ll get the rewards. Sport teaches us that, doesn’t it? And we’re seeing it now. Jack and his team and the squad are all working so hard to get things right. And they will. And we have such great support too – who will soon be filling our new home, as they did for that brilliant day at Wembley just a couple of weeks ago. There will be lots more days like that are coming our way!

Thank you, Tom – we’re still dreaming of being back at Wembley very soon, so let’s do our bit and roar the boys on today and see what comes next! We’ll all be keenly following progress at Power Court, too, of course. These are such exciting times – COYH!