A new home: Lincoln City FC chairman Bob Dorrian said the club is looking into the possibility of moving from Sincil Bank to a new stadium in the near future.
Lincoln City FC chairman Bob Dorrian said the club is looking into the possibility of moving from Sincil Bank to a new stadium in the near future.
After finding stability under manager David Holdsworth, the club is now looking at ways to increase revenue and attract new investors.
Speaking on BBC Lincolnshire’s Saturday Sport, he said: “We are still very serious about it but we have got a long way to go yet.”
The idea of Lincoln City moving from The 12th Imp Sincil Bank Stadium isn’t a new one; the concept was first voiced before the club’s relegation to the Blue Square Premier League.
The chairman highlighted the impact a new ground has had at nearby Chesterfield. Their move in 2010 to a brand new 10,379-capacity b2net Stadium has provided revenue from a multitude of sources.
At Chesterfields’s old ground, Saltergate, the club only generated income on the days where a match was played at the stadium. Now the b2net Stadium provides a place for year-round revenue.
Chairman Dorrian said that Chesterfield made £1.2 million from catering at their new ground in the first year, compared to last season at Saltergate, where they made just £140,000. For a club at that level, £1.2 million is a substantial sum. For a club at Lincoln City’s level the effects would be much more significant.
However, Bob Dorrian was realistic when talking about the prospect of a move, saying that it was all part of a long-term plan: “We hope to have a new ground in the next 4 to 5 years.”
Sincil Bank has been the Imps’ home since 1895.
Finding the site for a new ground in Lincoln is the next stage of the process, with plans shifting towards a site on Tritton Road.
Last year Dorrian put forward a £9 million move to a new complex which would be utilised as a centre for the community seven days a week, with restaurants, hotels and meeting facilities that would all add to the club’s commercial revenues.
It’s likely that much like Chesterfield’s b2net stadium and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, the new Lincoln stadium would be named after a sponsor.
Dorrian admitted that the “football club alone couldn’t afford to the build the ground,” saying that a partnership with one or two different organisations would be needed. Possible sponsors would include the University of Lincoln or the Lincolnshire Co-operative.
— A version of this story first appeared in The Linc.
A dramatic video shows a car engulfed in flames in the car park at Lincoln County Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
An on-call crew from Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue attended the scene on Greetwell Road shortly before 5pm on Tuesday, April 13.
The crew used one hose reel to extinguish the fire and fortunately no casualties were reported.
The car is probably a write-off. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Dramatic pictures from the scene show the severe damage that was caused to the front of the car.
Fall in county infections but a Boston spike
There have been 50 new coronavirus cases and three COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday — compared to 58 cases and no deaths this time last week.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 26 new cases in Lincolnshire, 19 in North Lincolnshire and five in North East Lincolnshire.
On Tuesday, three deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, none in North East Lincolnshire and -1 in North Lincolnshire. Fluctuations in data are usually due to some deaths in those areas being reallocated to other regions across the UK or a miscount. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England has reported two new local hospital deaths at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust hospitals.
On Tuesday, national cases increased by 2,472 to 4,375,814, while deaths rose by 23 to 127,123.
In local news, people aged over 45 can now book their COVID vaccinations on the NHS website after the government reached its target of offering a first dose to the nine most vulnerable groups.
There were recently some technical difficulties for people accessing the NHS website, but vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said the issues have been fixed – book a vaccine online here and find out if you are eligible.
Over the weekend, Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rate has fallen, with a spike in Boston only.
Similarly, the England average has also seen a drop in infections, but still remains nearly half Greater Lincolnshire’s rates.
Lincoln has dropped by more than half over the weekend and now has one of the smallest rates in the UK, with just 9.1 per 100,000 of the population infected with COVID-19.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s COVID-19 infection rates up to April 12:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Apr 5 to Apr 12. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
In national news, Boris Johnson has warned that the reduction in coronavirus infections, hospitalisations and deaths “has not been achieved” by the rollout of COVID vaccines.
The prime minister, speaking the day after the latest easing of lockdown restrictions, instead said it was the national shutdown that had been “overwhelmingly important” in driving down COVID rates.
England is giving out its first doses of the Moderna jab, the third COVID-19 vaccine in the nation’s rollout.
It will be available at 21 sites, included the Madejski Stadium in Reading and the Sheffield Arena.
Along with the Pfizer jab, it offers an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for under-30s, after concerns about a possible link to very rare blood clots.
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
58,772 cases (up 50)
2,184 deaths (up three)
of which 1,302 hospital deaths (up two)
4,375,814 UK cases, 127,123 deaths
There will be another Kill The Bill protest in Lincoln next week, rallying against a new government bill that diminishes protesting rights.
Protests have been rife across the country since the government’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was first discussed, with scenes turning violent in Bristol.
Over two hundred people peacefully took part in the city’s first march at Speakers’ Corner on April 3, including Extinction Rebellion activists and Socialist and Labour supporters.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Now, after a post started doing the rounds on social media, another protest has apparently been scheduled for 2pm on Monday, April 17 at the same location on Lincoln High Street, as part of a national day of action.
A poster promoting a second event has been shared across social media platforms.
Protests are lawful once again after the government eased lockdown restrictions on March 29, but organisers are required to submit a risk assessment prior to any event.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Organisers of the last protest were in close communication with police to make the event safe, and The Lincolnite has asked Lincolnshire Police if they have been made aware of another protest, but are yet to receive a reply.
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