Bob’s all for moving.

Lincolnshire Echo today serves up a rehashed story we’ve all heard before, Imps may be on the move. It’s not exactly news of course but the way things are going in Lincoln at the moment it’s probably as well to get a foot in the door if that’s what the board are resolved to do.

Like you I suspect, the prospect of a move fills me with a sort of nostalgic regret. Again, like you possibly I was taken to Sincil Bank by my Dad, a totally different stadium then with a big but not particularly grand open terrace all the way down one side, a dilapidated shelter behind the railway end, which still featured a railway and two wooden stands to complete the picture which were outdated and positively dangerous given that people smoked in them, even in the late 50’s.

The stadium was completely refurbished by the forward looking John Reams but was done on a very strict budget and I suspect whilst most of us love the Bank and regard it as our spiritual home it’s quite apparent by modern standards bearing in mind the uses that stadia are put to these days and also the competition in the city for rentable office and conference space the Bank just doesn’t cut the mustard.

A football stadium is required to provide the income which forms the bulk of the playing budget whereas in the old days the stadium was financed from football income. It just doesn’t wash now but with the huge amount of commercial activity locally at the moment, which is to our great benefit, City have got to be ready to tap into this resource with a modern, fit for purpose and attractive venue which is available for hire in whole or in part.

I’ve seen what can be done, particularly at Leicester City’s Stadium and whilst the Imps can never hope to reach the heights of the Premier League a new stadium might just enable us to get somewhere near the status City enjoyed when I first started supporting the Imps. There are plenty of small clubs starting to reap the benefit of such investment.

It’ll be a terrible wrench though.