The business lounges of the Euroborg are not just for private companies selling products to each other; they are also a prime hunting ground for local government officials looking to attract corporate investment. Page 69 features a prominent advertisement for eemsdelta\ez, the joint economic bureau of four northern municipalities: Appingedam, Delfzijl, Eemsmond, and Loppersum.
The ad features a photograph of three men—Harrie Hoek, Jan Mooi, and Ton Hoorndijk—standing confidently against an industrial harbor backdrop. Their pitch is direct: “Als u Eemsgezind wilt ondernemen in de Eemsdelta kunt u op ons rekenen!” (If you want to do business in the Eemsdelta, you can count on us!). They even cheekily add that you can call them “tijdens de wedstrijd” (during the match). This is municipal lobbying at its finest. The Eemsdelta region, with its deep-water ports and massive industrial zones, was desperate to attract new businesses, logistics hubs, and energy companies to boost local employment. By advertising in the FC Groningen programme, these civil servants placed themselves directly in front of the region’s wealthiest investors and CEOs.
A Look into the Future
Viewed from 2026, the administrative landscape of this advertisement no longer exists. In 2021, the municipalities of Appingedam, Delfzijl, and Loppersum officially merged to form the new, single municipality of Eemsdelta (with Eemsmond having previously merged into Het Hogeland). However, the economic ambition advertised in 2013 was wildly successful. The Eemsdelta region has transformed into the absolute powerhouse of the Dutch green energy transition, hosting massive offshore wind connections, hydrogen plants, and massive data centers (including Google). The bureaucrats who networked in the Euroborg sponsor lounges over a decade ago helped lay the groundwork for the most significant industrial boom in the modern history of the North.