ABSTRACT
2010 marked the 15th anniversary of Middlesbrough Football Club leaving its historic home at Ayresome Park, and the tenth anniversary of the completion of the housing estate that now occupies the site. It was also the tenth anniversary of the start of Neville Gabie’s ‘The Trophy Room’ commemorative art project. This involved the incorporation of artworks in and around the new houses as symbolic allusions to the former ground. This article re-examines the motives, concept, challenges and methodology behind the project; explores the original relationships between the artist, developers, residents, fans and club; investigates current views and attitudes towards the artworks; and opens out debate on visual culture in this context, focusing on such questions as place attachment, public memory, history and heritage, civic pride and identity and nostalgia sport tourism.
