West Ham fans will celebrate the restoration of one of Upton Park’s iconic landmarks ahead of Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Sheffield United.
The giant club crest which once hung above the entrance to the Bobby Moore Stand has been returned to its former glory and reinstalled on the site of the old Boleyn Ground.
The crest was presumed lost in the demolition of the stadium, which West Ham vacated in 2016.
However, it was rediscovered two years ago in a storage facility in Dartford and Hammers fans clubbed together to purchase the relic for £8,750, ensuring it remains in local hands.
After paying a further £2,000 in planning permission and installation costs, the crest has been hung above what was the old Supporters’ Club on Castle Street, which stood opposite the Bobby Moore Stand.
An official unveiling will take place at the site at midday on Saturday, before the Hammers take on Sheffield United at the London Stadium.
“It’s going to stand about 40 yards from where it originally was,” Paul Colborne, the chair of the Hammers United supporters’ group which led the campaign, told the Daily Mail.
“You could fall out of the Supporters’ Club and straight into the turnstiles of Upton Park, that’s how close it now is to its spiritual home. We must look to the future now, but also never forget our past.”