Three new murals have appeared on the walls of underpasses near the Lamex Stadium in Stevenage.
Each themed mural represents a part of Stevenage's identity - one represents the football club, another focuses on science and technology, while the third commemorates Stevenage's green spaces and active travel.
Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) commissioned Hertfordshire-based street artists MurWalls to paint the scenes in the underpasses at the roundabout between the Lamex Stadium and the Roaring Meg retail park.
The Stevenage FC-themed mural depicts club legends including Martin Gittings, Barry Hayles, Ronnie Henry, Mark Roberts, and current captains Carl Piergianni and Lucy Webster.
The design also honours a number of cult heroes such as Mark Smith, Anthony Elding, Scott Laird, Jason Goodliffe, John Mousinho, Chris Beardsley, and Stevenage-born striker Luke Norris.
Meanwhile, the green spaces-themed mural features some of Stevenage's nature, such as ducks and geese, and the science and technology-themed underpass honours Stevenage's place as a hub for space development.
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Anti-graffiti protection is being added to protect the artworks from vandalism.
Marc Silver, the CEO of MurWalls, told the Comet that he and his team had been hard at work throughout the week to finish the murals - starting at 8am on Monday, and finishing at midday today (Friday, August 25).
They had seven artists on site to get the job done in time for the weekend.
Marc said: "We've been working with Hertfordshire County Council for a number of years.
"Originally, we were commissioned to do an underpass in Hemel Hempstead, and then that led onto work at Elstree Studios and in Watford, involving Watford FC.
"We get told by the council about underpasses they're seeking to renovate, they say 'we'd like to put some cool artwork on there', and we go and take a look.
"HCC, SBC and the football club all got involved with ideas for the project.
"It was a very long process of us sitting down and taking ideas from different people, and hopefully the artwork that's on the wall reflects what they and the community want.
"We worked really closely with Stevenage FC Foundation who were fantastic and very helpful - we loved it.
"They were very excited about what we were doing, and have been keeping us company every day we've been working on it - as have the people of Stevenage walking and cycling through and often stopping for a chat!"
Martin Gittings, Stevenage FC's record goalscorer who is featured in the mural, was a friend of one of the artists, and Marc says: "We loved doing that one and we can't wait for his family to come and see it.
"Hopefully, we can get down to watch a game or two ourselves later this season."
Joe Goude, chief executive officer of Stevenage FC Foundation, said: “The buzz this week around the underpass has shown exactly why we wanted to work with everyone involved to bring new life to the area.
"This has been something we wanted to do for a number of years, and it is an opportunity to showcase some of the history of the club, and what it represents for our community.
"We hope that residents, commuters, cyclists, runners, and both home and away fans enjoy the space for years to come”.
The murals have been visited by the Mayor of Stevenage, Cllr Myla Arceno, the leader of Stevenage Borough Council, Cllr Richard Henry, and the executive member for economy and transport, Cllr Lloyd Briscoe.
Cllr Loraine Rossati, executive member for culture, leisure and information technology at Stevenage Borough Council, commented: “Stevenage Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council have collaborated to create a much more welcoming environment for people using the underpasses beneath the Broadhall Way roundabout, located by Stevenage FC and Wickes.
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“There are three designs that broadly reflect the areas leading to and from the underpasses: Stevenage FC themed, science and technology themed, and green spaces and active travel.
"There are so many fantastic qualities in Stevenage that should be celebrated and we are exploring opportunities to improve other underpasses in the town.”
The murals have been completed in time for Stevenage FC's big home game tomorrow (Saturday, August 26) against Portsmouth.
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