Tottenham Hotspur has announced that its famous Golden Cockerel will be installed at its new stadium, which it hopes to open in the coming months.
The cockerel formed part of Tottenham’s old White Hart Lane stadium and the new version stands at approximately 4.5m tall. It will be located on the new stadium’s roof structure above the South Stand.
Tottenham has worked with London Mould Makers to create the scaled-up replica of the original cockerel, which first appeared at White Hart Lane in 1909.
The original is currently in the lobby of Tottenham’s Lilywhite House offices. LMM has taken a 3D scan of the sculpture, picking out every tiny detail.
As a result, every scratch, bump and dent from the original will be included in the new design. Club historian John Fennelly said: “The Cockerel was falling apart. It was dented and in pretty poor condition. The story was the dents had been caused in the Blitz. But the truth was the damage was done by Gazza (Paul Gascoigne) – with an air rifle. He tried to deny it but he’d been spotted.”
London Mould Makers’ Arthur Steward added: “The Cockerel has such a rich history, it tells its own story. It is an honour to preserve that history and pay homage to the original artists who created it.
“Many of our employees working on this project are Tottenham residents, so we are all well aware of the huge benefits this stadium regeneration scheme will bring to the local area.”
It remains to be seen when Tottenham’s new stadium will open. The ground had initially been scheduled to open this Saturday with Tottenham’s home game against Liverpool but this fixture, along with subsequent home league matches against Cardiff City (October 6) and Manchester City (October 29), has been moved to Wembley. Tottenham has also confirmed that its three group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League will take place at Wembley.
As a result of the delays in opening the new stadium, fans will actually get to see the ground on the new FIFA 19 game before being able to sample the real thing. The latest instalment in the EA Sports franchise is due to be released on September 28 and will feature all 20 Premier League stadia, including the grounds of newly-promoted teams Wolverhampton Wanderers (Molineux), Cardiff City (Cardiff City Stadium) and Fulham (Craven Cottage).
Image: Tottenham Hotspur
