The campaign to raise funds for a statue of Blues legend Kevin Beattie has hit the £15,000 mark, supporters having contributed just over £1,000 via a collection bucket in the FanZone at the Sheffield United match prior to Christmas.
Led by the EADT and Ipswich Star in conjunction with BBC Radio Suffolk and TWTD, The Beat Goes On was launched on December 18th on what would have been the Blues legend’s 65th birthday.
The campaign aims to raise the £110,000 required for the statue and additional associated costs.
The collection bucket was brought along to the game by BBC Radio Suffolk’s Mark Murphy (pictured above with EADT editor Brad Jones), who was presenting Life’s a Pitch alongside Terry Butcher and TWTD’s Phil Ham, who are also members of The Beat Goes On committee. They were visited by a steady stream of fans donating cash throughout the show.
Town season ticket holder Sean Hedges-Quinn, known as Coach, who sculpted the statues of Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson, will be commissioned for the project with preliminary discussions regarding the design having already taken place.
The statue is likely to be placed on the corner of Portman Road and the entrance to the Cattlemarket car park, diagonal to Sir Alf Ramsey and just along from Sir Bobby Robson.
You can make a donation online via the Go Fund Me page or send a cheque made payable to ‘The Beat Goes On’ to Kevin Beattie Statue Appeal, EADT, Portman House, 120 Princes Street, Ipswich, IP1 1RS.
There are also collection buckets at reception at the EADT’s offices and at BBC Radio Suffolk.