A statue of Newcastle's record goalscorer Alan Shearer will be unveiled on Monday with the entire £250,000 cost met by former club chairman Freddy Shepherd and his family.
The five-metre bronze sculpture outside St James' Park was commissioned by Shepherd in 2007 when he was owner of Newcastle, to mark Shearer's great achievements following his playing retirement.
The project was mothballed after Mike Ashley bought the club.
The completion of the project in which Ashley played no part comes with the Toon chief at the centre of controversy over employees in his Sports Direct empire being paid less than the minimum wage while the owner carries around wads of £50 notes.