Eyebrows were raised this week when Lincoln City announced a ten-year deal for the naming rights at Sincil Bank.
Yes, it will always be Sincil Bank, but commercial revenue is so valuable these days that, officially, it will be the ProAmpac stadium from now until this writer is just two years from turning 60. That’s scary!
In March 2021, as our automatic promotion campaign began to fall apart, ProAmpac was acquiring Brayford Plastics just outside the city. Since then, they’ve become a recognisable local brand, despite being a global company. You probably know someone who works there, or who has worked there.
They’ll now be firmly linked with the Imps after bagging the stadium rights, but to give you a clearer idea of what they do, we spoke to Greg Tucker, CEO of ProAmpac, as he flew in for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony today, and asked him to highlight exactly what they do.
“The company was founded 10 years ago, and it was really founded around building sustainable packaging,” he said.
“So we can now offer 100% of our products in a sustainable package, meaning it doesn’t need to go to our landfill. It shouldn’t go in the ocean.
“We have over 300 patents. We have smart packaging. We are the leading company in innovation in flexible packaging.
‘When you think of building the company, that technology is what we wanted there, but the foundation of this company is still culture, people, and family, which is what aligns so well with Lincoln and Lincolnshire.”
The deal, which has been in the making for months, certainly wasn’t driven by our promotion. ProAmpac are a company that was in discussions long before the Imps sealed the historic title win last season.
“I think the values and the culture of Lincoln and the leadership team in the community have gotten them promoted,” added Greg. “If you think of how they manage the players, it’s an incredible model. When we first got involved in Lincoln, we didn’t know about the promotion. It was not really something that we were considering.”
Lincoln City are not the only club with a ProAmpac site close by. They have a site at Grimsby, one at Elsham Wold, with Worthing and Wimbledon also hosting facilities. With a presence across the UK, it’s interesting to hear what attracted them to Lincoln City.
“I think what we considered right away, both from the community and just getting to meet people here, is the culture. It felt right. They care about others. We’re all treated equally. I love that. So it was more about that than it was.
“Love the fact that we’re getting promoted, and I hope Lincoln continues to get promoted, but it was more based on values and culture when we got involved, and really wanting to help locally.
“We do stuff with the Army Benevolent Fund, ABF. I do a lot there too, both personally, and we’ve done that up at the Cathedral, helped fund that, and my father and family were both from the Army, so we’re very aligned with the UK, so it’s important for me in that as well.
“So we’ll continue to invest in youth, we’ll continue to invest in the community, and we’ll continue to invest in Lincoln City.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place under the warm summer sun, and it feels that for the last ten years, more often than not, the sun has shone on Lincoln City. For the next ten years, it will shine on the ProAmpac Stadium, known to you and me as Sincil Bank, but backed by a global brand.
Just think, 13 years ago, the club sold £50 raffle tickets to raise funds, with the winner getting to name the stadium (not being critical, needs must). How much have we progressed since then?
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