TOTTENHAM have announced White Hart Lane’s iconic Bill Nicholson Gates will be reinstalled at their new ground.
The Premier League club aim to get the gates up at their new home, the Stadium, for their opening match of the new season against Burnley on August 16.
The gates are named after former Spurs player and manager Nicholson, who had a 38-year association with the club and won eight major trophies in his 16 years in charge.
Nicholson became synonymous with the gates thanks to Peter Robinson taking a photo of him holding them in the 1970s.
The gates stood until 2015, when they were placed into storage ahead of building began on Tottenham’s new stadium - but now they are set to be brought back out for use.
In a statement announcing their return, the club said: “Generations of fans, players and staff followed in Bill’s footsteps through the gates on the way to White Hart Lane and we recognise their significant cultural and historic value.
“As such, we have taken our time in finding the most appropriate location to reinstate the gates within the new stadium environs - mindful of the significant levels of construction and change the area has seen over the past decade.
“Working in close consultation with our Fan Advisory Board (FAB), we have identified a location - within PAXTON17, between the Ticket Office and historic buildings at the north of the stadium - at which the gates will be reinstated.
Club chairman Daniel Levy said the club did not want to rush deciding where to put the famous gates.
He said: “The Bill Nicholson Gates are such a significant part of our Club’s heritage and I am extremely proud they will be returning home this summer.
“We were never going to rush into a decision as to where they should be reinstated, given the huge amount of works that have taken place in the area over recent years.
“We have undertaken a carefully-planned process, working with our architects, construction partners and Fan Advisory Board, and I believe we have found a fitting solution.
“We look forward to welcoming fans back to the stadium for the coming season - as well as Bill’s family members and former players - to see the gates and feel that close connection between our Club and its rich history.”
Nicholson is the club’s most decorated manager, winning the League Cup and FA Cup double in 1961.
Two years later, Spurs became the first English side to win a European title when they picked up the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963.
He was also a key player in Arthur Rowe’s trailblazing 1950/51 League title winning side.
Nicholson passed away at the age of 85 in 2004.
