Through supporters feedback via the Supporters Board, Fans Surveys, social media and more, we have made numerous changes to improve the overall experience for fans at Lincoln City FC. We pride in ourselves being a community based football club, and we’d would like to actively encourage fans feedback.
We have taken action on a number of key areas thank to your suggestions and some of the changes of how you have helped improve the experience for all can be seen below.
Catering
- University of Lincoln Fan Zone – This was introduced to improve the overall experience pre match packed with food outlets, outdoor pouring points, seating and children’s activities.
- Stacey West catering point – This has been introduced to ensure those supporters in the Stacey West receive the same service as other areas of the stadium.
- Pre-paid pints and one queue for pie and pints - This has significantly decreased queuing times for supporters, in particular at half time.
- Hog roasts during the Christmas period in the University of Lincoln Fan Zone – This provides a festive option for our supporters which is different to the usual food choices.
Ticketing
- Buy back scheme - Supporters can receive a cash payment if their seat is resold with the Buy Back Scheme. This process enables supporters to plan ahead for the season informing the club of fixtures they are unable to attend.
- Seat Swap – Supporters are now able to swap their season ticket seat for an alternative seat in the stadium to allow them to purchase extra tickets alongside them for friends or family who cannot come to every home game at Sincil Bank.
- Friendly bundle price – This allowed supporters to make savings during our pre-season campaign by purchasing tickets to every home friendly.
- MyImps membership scheme - The scheme saw over 1,500 fans purchase a membership last season which is the second tier priority for Imps supporters (behind a Season Ticket) and also offers discount on tickets as reward for loyalty.
- Late night Club Store opening – We have started to open our Club Store later on selected evenings with a number of first team players handling the phones and computers.
Travel
- City centre car parking – The option for fans to park on a match day from 8am until midnight for £4.25 with Tentercroft Street being the advised car park. This has allowed supporters to do their shopping, watch the Imps and go out for food.
- Free transport to FA Youth Cup – As the Imps faced West Brom at the Hawthorns in the FA Youth Cup third round, season ticket holders were offered free bus travel.
Stadium
- Smoking bubbles – This has allowed fans to smoke at half-time in a safe controlled zone, making the matchday experience safer for all supporters.
- Ongoing stadium improvements – A number of changes to the stadium including cashless turnstiles, a new gantry freeing up around 100 seats in the Co-op stand and new catering points.
- Supported safe standing – We backed the campaign for a Parliamentary debate regarding safe standing in the Premier League and Championship. This topic was debated on 25 June 2018.
- Movement between upper and lower tiers in the Co-op stand – Supporters with tickets in the Upper Co-op are permitted to transfer to the Lower Co-op via the transition gates allowing them to use other facilities within the stadium.
Fans
- New set up in the Travis Perkins Suite – By introducing beanbags for children we have improved the environment on a match day.
- Supporters Board - The Supporters Board consider the views, concerns and feelings of the fans in general to help the club make informed decisions.
- Lost Imps names in Wembley programme – A touching tribute to any Imps supporters who may have sadly passed away prior to our trip to Wembley in the Checkatrade Trophy.
- Oldest mascots – We have now held our Oldest mascots for three successive seasons. This has allowed the Older Mascots at Sincil Bank to walk out on to the pitch with the players before kick-off to thanks them for their lifetime of support.
- WhatsApp - As part of an ongoing review of our communication with fans, we are one of the first football clubs in the UK to use WhatsApp messaging as a service for customer service and feedback.
Media
- iFollow changes – Radio Lincolnshire now provide commentary on live stream games as well as a number of exclusive videos.
- Improved regular media content – More regular content now features on iFollow and YouTube with a number of exclusives such as Sincil Sofa, Football Friends and FIFA specials.
- Fans playlists – Fans now have the opportunity to pick the matchday music at Sincil Bank through social media.
Retail
- Standard fit replica kit – We have introduced standard fit shirts into the club shop replacing the slim fit Errea shirts which had previously been stocked.
- Town centre store – This has allowed fans to access Lincoln City products in the city centre.
- New Club Store at Sincil Bank – This provides a much bigger space for fans to purchase their Imps essentials and match tickets.
Local Community and Foundation
- Junior Takeover Day – Alongside Lincoln City Foundation we hosted a junior takeover day which saw young fans play the roles of Lincoln City members of staff (including first team staff).
- Family Open Day - We were delighted to host an Open Day for supporters at Sincil Bank, alongside a pre-season friendly with Derby County Under-23s. The Open Day allowed supporters to watch an open training session, as well as the chance to get autographs from their favourite Imps players in a signing session.
- Support Lincoln United – We have created an official partnership with our neighbours Lincoln United to help support local non-league football teams in our area.
