A major new exhibition celebrating the legends of British football is due to open in London’s Pepsi Trocadero Centre next year, it was announced on Friday.
The Football Hall of Fame will be an interactive experience featuring holograms and models of both British legends and young Premiership lions.
Hall of Fame Holdings today took the first step towards a flotation on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) next month with the publication of its pathfinder prospectus. The brochure gives essential financial information about the company. Forty million ordinary shares and eight million warrants, representing 79% of the new company’s equity, will be put up for sale by stockbrokers Fiske & Co, raising £4m towards start-up costs.
A spokesman for the company said it was keen to see private investors gain a stake in the exhibition, as some other football sector investments have been largely restricted to big City institutions.
Hurst said: “This listing on AIM will enable the development ofboth a monument to the game and an engaging show for the public.”
The project is the brainchild of managing director Gary Trowsdale, a Chelsea fan and a marketing man who was involved in the launches of Sky Television and VideoPlus.
It will feature two main exhibitions, a Hall of British Legendsdisplaying heroes of the past, and the Premiership Hall of Fame, devoted to more recent stars. An independent panel will decide who is eligible for inclusion, and a new name will be added to the Hall of Fame each year.
Other parts of the exhibition will cover London legends, the role ofthe press, British teams in Europe and a goalkeepers’ corner.
Trowsdale has brought the 1966 World Cup hero Geoff Hurst, thescorer of the hat-trick that felled West Germany, into the project as thecompany’s chairman.
Hurst, now a businessman, said of the new company: “Having been out of the mainstream of football for almost 17 years, this project has really captured my imagination. It’s great to be back.”
The new company’s special adviser is Peter Osgood, the formerChelsea player, whose goal in the FA Cup Final replay helped Chelsea to the trophy in 1970.
The exhibition is due to open in January 1998, as the company hopes to capitalise on next year’s World Cup, which France is hosting.
Officially the Football Association is not yet involved with theproject, and its own Football Museum is currently being built at Preston North End Football Club. But a source close to the FA confirmed that it is “very interested” in the project.
PA News 19/05/97
