Foundation officially open Co-op Community Hub

Opening of the Co-op Community Hub

The Foundation celebrated the opening of their state-of-the-art Co-op Community Hub on Wednesday 26 June in conjunction with City's 140th birthday.

The day started in the Branston Legends Lounge where City legends discussed the history of the Imps before a cake was cut to honour the anniversary of the club. 

A host of City and Foundation stakeholders, trustees and board members were then led to the entrance of the new community space, which was officially opened by president of the Lincolnshire Co-op Richard Wills, chair of the Lincolnshire FA Jonathan Van-Tam, City chief executive Liam Scully and Foundation chief executive Martin Hickerton.

Martin said: “The generous funding from the club, investors and all our partners has allowed us to open this facility. It’s created so much space, and it’s a real game-changer for us.

“We now have dedicated spaces for young people, and can continue our work with older members of the community, non-native English speakers and people living with cancer across Lincolnshire.”

Attendees were then welcomed to look around the state-of-the-art new build with activities such as the Extra Time Hub and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) taking place to showcase how the facility will be used.

Joyce, a member of the Extra Time Hub and a volunteer for the Foundation, said: “The charity has developed so much in the last three or four years.

“The most important part of the hub is that it improves communication and gives people pleasure. It’s a great way to intertwine the community together."

The hub presents the Foundation with a great platform to build from, with Martin excited for what the future holds.

He added: “We feel that we’ve inherited a real legacy, and we take that really seriously, but we’re not finished. We’ve got a future chapter still to write.

“We want to see more people engaging and put on more programmes, particularly ones focused on young people and health, which will hopefully see more people coming to be Lincoln City Football Club fans.”

The building was funded jointly by the Be Lincoln Towns Fund, Football Foundation, Youth Investment Fund, Lincolnshire Co-op and the EFL, members of the public through the Stacey West Investment Bond and capital investment from the owners of the football club.