Arlington’s Entertainment District is officially in full soccer mode — and now it has the boot to match.
City officials and representatives from the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee welcomed the Texan Golden Boot to Arlington on Thursday afternoon.
Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said the boot memorializes the moment that Arlington takes center stage as the host of the most games of any city during the tournament.
“We are very excited about the world’s eyes being on Arlington,” Ross said. “This is going to leave a legacy when the World Cup is over. This will be here for all of time.”
The modified soccer cleat, which stands roughly 18 feet long and 14 feet high, was announced in February.
The boot itself, which sits near Globe Life Field in Richard Greene Linear Park, takes its name and inspiration from the award given traditionally to the top scorer of a soccer league or competition. This version bears a golden spur.
The statue was created by Steve Ekpenisi, a Nigerian sculptor selected by national nonprofit Street Art for Mankind. In roughly 28 days, he forged the statue using reclaimed metal.
Street Art for Mankind co-founder Thibault Decker said the piece was a day-and-night endeavor for Ekpenisi and his team of assistants.
Audrey Decker, Thibault’s wife and co-founder of Street Art for Mankind, said Ekpenisi is known as the “Iron Bender,” due to his technique of bending the metal by hand.
“There’s probably only two in the world that can do what he did right now,” Thibault Decker said.
To bring it to Arlington, it was shipped in four pieces. Some of the final touches of the statue, such as adding the golden spur, were completed at the Arlington Museum of Art days before the unveiling, Decker said.
“What we did (at the Arlington Museum of Art) was put it back together, make sure it’s solid, weld, bolt and then transport it literally in the streets,” he said.
The statue’s unveiling also marks just over two weeks from the first game in Arlington. Dan Hunt, FC Dallas president and co-chair of the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee’s board of directors, said the piece is the first step in the World Cup celebrations.
“My hope for our visitors is that they come celebrate the World Cup right here in Arlington, and take photos in front of this beautiful statue, and create lifetime memories for family and friends,” Hunt said.
Although he didn’t have exact projections, Mayor Ross said he expects a lot of people to visit Arlington for the tournament and festivities.
On May 19, Arlington City Council learned that the ticket sales for games at AT&T Stadium, renamed Dallas Stadium for the duration of the tournament, were 35% to 50% sold.
“I know that our hotels are already booked up. We are already getting a lot of excitement around here, it’s a good time for everybody,” Ross said. “I think North Texas is going to love this.”
Ross said that the sculpture fits perfectly with the purpose of the Entertainment District: “Crazy, wonderful cultural experiences.”
“It’s really about an immersion in what Arlington is all about,” Ross said. “That’s inviting anybody and everybody here to come have a wonderful time and enjoy all of the phenomenal things, from our amusement parks to our museums, to our stadiums, to our sports teams, to our concerts, to the public art. We have it all here.”
The work on the area around the statue isn’t quite finished.
In the months following the World Cup, construction on a plaza surrounding the statue will begin. The plaza will feature engraved bricks with donor names, part of a donation drive by the North Texas Sports Foundation.
The foundation was created to bring support to existing sports-related nonprofit organizations. Jaime Cabrera, director of donor relations for the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, said the foundation has secured roughly 20 donors for the project so far.
“One of the key activities of the North Texas Sports Foundation is access, arts, safe spaces to play, sports, culture,” Cabrera said. “For us, this was a big deal to be able to erect the boot, and then have the following plaza campaign.”
Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org.
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