Arlington councilwoman Brittney Garcia-Dumas gives the Lone Star spur a spin after it was welded into place during an VIP unveiling at the Arlington Museum of Art, May 26, 2026. In advance of the FIFA World Cup, artist Steve Ekpenesi of Lagos, Nigeria created the ‘Texan Golden Boot” sculpture, a public art landmark to be erected in the Arlington Entertainment District.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
ARLINGTON — The Texan Golden Boot, a permanent public art landmark, will be unveiled today in Arlington’s Entertainment District, where stakeholders believe the singular fixture will create a lasting legacy once the 39-day FIFA World Cup concludes.
Visitors will see a 2,210-pound soccer cleat crafted with meticulous detail — 11 feet long, 18 feet high when mounted on the concrete pedestal — forged partially from locally sourced reclaimed metal, symbolizing the connection between global sports and Texas heritage.
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What they won’t see is the 28-day odyssey that unfolded to build the intricate structure in Lagos, Nigeria, or its nearly week-long, three-continent journey to Arlington that concluded early Sunday morning.
Sleepless nights. A visit to a Dallas-area scrap metal yard. And the high-stakes 3,000-mile journey from Lagos to Brussels, then another 4,100 miles to — of all places — Cincinnati, before the two crates were trucked the final 1,000 miles to the Arlington Museum of Art.
Once it arrived as the sun rose Sunday, its creator, renown international artist and metal sculptor Steve Ekpenisi, a man who bends metal so effectively and effortlessly he’s called “The Iron Bender,” was beaming all the way from Lagos.
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During a video call with The Dallas Morning News — which was granted an exclusive preview of the Golden Boot — Ekpenisi called the process “rigorous” and “very tough” but couldn’t be prouder of the finished piece of art.
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“It definitely is going to condense smiles to your faces and create a feeling of ownership,” Ekpenisi said. “It’s going to be a public art landmark that will attract visitors from here and all over the world, especially with the [World Cup].”
The North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, in partnership with the North Texas Sports Foundation and Street Art for Mankind unveiled the Golden Boot sculpture to recognize D-FW’s role in the World Cup. Organizers believe it will be one of the most photographed public artworks in any of the global event’s 16 host cities.
‘It is very, very epic’
The Golden Boot is located at the corner of Stadium Drive and Cowboys Way in front of Richard Greene Linear Park. It is captivating: It looks like a size-500 shoe, with countless stitches and a lone star spur high in the air.
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“Mind-blowing,” said Ade Odunfa, the apprentice to Ekpenisi, who lives in Houston and Nigeria.
“It is very, very epic,” said Audrey Decker, co-founder of Street Art for Mankind, which curated and produced the Golden Boot.
Thibault Decker, fellow co-founder of Street Art for Mankind, called it the largest metal boot ever created.
Street Art For Mankind co-founders Thibualt Decker (left) tugs on the drape which got caught under the cleat as he and Audrey Decker unveiled the ‘Texan Golden Boot’ sculpture at the Arlington Museum of Art, May 26, 2026. The spur was welded into place before it was moved to its permanent location at Cowboys Way and Stadium Dr, across the street from Globe Life Field. The piece was done in advance of the FIFA World Cup by artist Steve Ekpenesi of Lagos, Nigeria, who created it from repurposed metal, some from Texas.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
North Texas Sports Foundation paid for the Golden Boot, funded by donations.
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The accompanying “Buy a Brick” campaign invites organizations, individuals, and families to take part in the World Cup legacy by purchasing engraved bricks ranging from $500 to $5,000. Each donor’s name will be featured on a brick placed around the Texan Golden Boot sculpture.
Contributors who donate $50,000 or more will receive permanent recognition on the base of the sculpture. All funds raised through the Texan Golden Boot and “Buy a Brick” campaign are stewarded by the North Texas Sports Foundation and invested in initiatives focused on long-term community impact, sustainability and ethical development.
“This is how North Texas turns a global moment into something permanent,” said Monica Paul, president of the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee. “When the World Cup leaves, this legacy will remain and tell the story of a region that invested in its people and its future.”
Creating a legacy from the first World Cup in North America in 32 years has been a primary pillar of the North Texas Organizing Committee’s business strategy for years. Integral to that is this fixture, which stands a little more than a Lionel Messi kick to AT&T Stadium, which will host more matches (nine) than any other city.
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‘A mix of modernity and vintage’
The concept took shape some four months ago when Audrey and Thibault Decker reached out to Ekpenisi with the idea of a golden boot.
Ekpenisi is largely recognized as an international leader in transforming discarded steel, rods and industrial scrap into artwork. He works largely with bent and woven metal rather than clay or stone.
Street Art For Mankind co-founders Thibualt Decker (left) and Audrey Decker help slide the spur into place on the ‘Texan Golden Boot’ sculpture, a public art landmark erected in the Arlington Entertainment District. In advance of the FIFA World Cup, artist Steve Ekpenesi of Lagos, Nigeria created the boot and spur. The final construction took place at the Arlington Museum of Art, May 26, 2026.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
Ekpenisi made a handful of sketches of his vision. Thibault Decker said it looked like a “mix of modernity and vintage, which is what we wanted early on.”
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Ekpenisi said he made 11 different drawings of versions of the golden boot — and the 11th one was the one that struck gold, so to speak — which was fitting because the World Cup begins June 11.
“I knew it was going to be tough, because from inception I was told it should look like genuine leather,” Ekpenisi said. “I knew it was going to be tough, because if you look at the finished piece, you see the tiny stitches, thread-like stitches on the boot itself.”
But from the start of his projects, he said, he envisions the finished product in his mind. In interviews over the years, Ekpenisi has talked about sometimes creating sculptures starting with small details — like eyes — before constructing the rest of the fixture outward.
For the Golden Boot, he used an actual soccer cleat as a model at the beginning to make sure proportions were correct. Then he began making the sole of the boot, he said, because that determines the length and size of the boot. He said he made a print of the sole and then bent a pipe to provide stability.
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“People call me the ‘Iron Bender’ for a reason,” Ekpenisi said.
All the while, Audrey and Thibault Decker were following progress from half a world away, seeing the evolution of the sculpture being created before their eyes.
“He’s a genius,” Thibault Decker said.
‘No margin for error’
Thibault Decker visited a Dallas-area scrap metal yard to selectively find what he said was 165 pounds of “mild steel.” He flew the reclaimed metal to Lagos so Ekpenisi could incorporate a piece of Dallas into the artwork.
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“It’s got to be flat, it’s got to be mild steel, two or three millimeters so you can weld it,” Thibault Decker said of the metal he chose. “You have some specifics but it is what you find … It takes a village.”
With Ekpenisi and his team of seven, the entire building process took 28 days.
“He did this insanely quickly,” Audrey Decker said.
Odunfa, the apprentice to Ekpenisi, said, “There was no margin for error.”
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During the final week, Ekpenisi said, he and his team “never had sleep. We’re working day and night back-to-back. That it was really a moment for us, but it’s worth it, and the end was something amazing.”
A video shows artist Steve Ekpenesi of Lagos, Nigeria constructing the ‘Texan Golden Boot” sculpture, a public art landmark to be erected in the Arlington Entertainment District. The boot and its adjoining spur was shipped from Nigeria to Arlington. The unveiling of the boot and the welded attachment of the spur took place at the Arlington Museum of Art, May 26, 2026.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
After they finished, one problem emerged: Ekpenisi said they realized the golden boot was not going to fit into an airplane.
He said they needed to devise a plan to cut it into three pieces to ensure that it met size requirements for DHL Express. Germany-based DHL is a global mail and logistics company that oversees international and domestic shipping and supply chain management for several industries.
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“We had to cut the boot into about three major parts and cutting it is not something you just cut into two, because it’s metal and everything is forced together, so you actually have to create something that will bind it together,” Ekpenisi said.
‘We need to find a solution’
On May 18, two crates filled with the boot flew unaccompanied to Brussels. From there, it flew to Cincinnati. Then, delays. More delays. An apparent standstill.
Time was growing short, anxiety was building. They couldn’t get a hold of the driver who was tasked with trucking the crates to North Texas.
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“We knew that Friday morning it was there [in Cincinnati] and Saturday there was nothing moving, and then Saturday night there was nothing moving,” Audrey Decker said. “And then we said, ‘Okay, well, we need to find a solution, because at this point nothing is going to move before Tuesday. So we called the [DHL] president.”
They called Jim Monkmeyer, Global Head of LLP & Supply Chain Orchestration, DHL Supply Chain. Audrey Decker showed The News a string of texts with Monkmeyer from that nerve-wracking time.
Finally, at 6:34 p.m. Saturday night, Monkmeyer told Decker, “I’m going to make it happen for you.”
After the Lone Star spur was welded into place by artist apprentice Ade Odunfa (right), he’s applauded by North Texas FWC Chief Marketing Officer Noelle LeVeaux (left). In advance of the FIFA World Cup, artist Steve Ekpenesi of Lagos, Nigeria created the ‘Texan Golden Boot” sculpture, a public art landmark to be erected in the Arlington Entertainment District. The unveiling of the boot and attachment of the spur took place at the Arlington Museum of Art, May 26, 2026.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
Then, at 7 a.m. Sunday, the call came: Two giant crates filled with the Texan Golden Boot arrived at the Arlington Museum of Art.
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From there, city officials, museum employees, the World Cup organizing committee and others were mobilized. Chris Hightower, the CEO and president of the Arlington Museum of Art, lives five minutes away from the museum and got word Sunday morning.
“I jumped out of the house and threw on a cap,” Hightower said. “Two crates. One gia-normous crate and one manageable crate.”
Fork lifts, pallet jacks, furniture dollies, Johnson bars (J-bars) were all engaged.
“The crate was not really designed to be used again, and so it had a little give to it,” Hightower said, “so we had to be super careful with handling it, because we didn’t know if it would break apart.”
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‘I hope you love the boot’
The Golden Boot was moved into a large room in the museum. Collective sighs of relief were heard. Hightower is used to large shipments arriving from all over the world, so he was a stoic force amid the frayed nerves.
“They were very relieved,” Hightower said. “It wasn’t so nerve-wracking for me, but I think all the other people in charge of the project were really freaked out. But I was trying to be the calm one to let them know it’s okay, like, it doesn’t matter when it arrives, whenever it arrives, I’ll be ready.”
Once it arrived, Odunfa said he was largely responsible for putting the boot together and installing it. On Tuesday, officials were still planning to move it outside where it was to be mounted on a concrete pedestal.
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“We have someone coming to put it up, like the Statue of Liberty …,” Audrey Decker said. “It was epic. But when you work in public installation and you have no compromising quality, things often get epic.”
Marvin Bonner has his photo taken with a FIFA World Cup replica trophy and soccer ball during an unveiling of the ‘Texan Golden Boot” sculpture at the Arlington Museum of Art, May 26, 2026.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
A few weeks before the kickoff of the first men’s World Cup on U.S. soil in a generation, it’s now perched high for locals and visitors to admire. After a dizzying journey that began in Lagos, it now has its forever home, a permanent fixture and lasting legacy for this World Cup.
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“When I saw the finished product, I was very, very happy,” Ekpenisi said. “I want to say a big thank you to the people of Texas and I hope that you love the boot.”