The final advertisement in the May 2013 programme is a heavyweight B2B pitch that perfectly captures the macroeconomic anxiety and ambition of the northern Netherlands. Taking up all of page 77 is an ad for PlasBossinade, one of the most prominent law and notary firms in the region, located on the Paterswoldseweg.
The advertisement features a portrait of mr. Angela Dikkema, but it doesn’t sell general legal defense or standard corporate mergers. It is laser-focused on a single, explosive sector: Energy. The headline reads, “Maak van uw energievraagstuk geen energievreter” (Don’t let your energy issue become an energy drain), positioning the firm as “uw partner in energie” (your partner in energy). In 2013, the energy market in Groningen was a legal minefield. The region was dealing with the escalating fallout from gas extraction earthquakes, while simultaneously navigating the incredibly complex permit processes for new offshore wind farms and solar parks. By advertising their specialized energy law team in the Euroborg, PlasBossinade was speaking directly to the municipal planners, energy executives, and landowners in the sponsor lounges who were desperately trying to navigate this chaotic transition.
A Look into the Future
Viewed from 2026, the strategic focus of this 2013 advertisement was incredibly sharp. Over the following decade, energy law became arguably the most critical and lucrative legal specialty in the northern Netherlands. The legal battles surrounding compensation for earthquake damage from the Groningen gas field became the largest civil liability operation in Dutch history. Simultaneously, the massive influx of green energy infrastructure required endless legal frameworks for land rights, grid connections, and international subsidies. Law firms that positioned themselves early as “partners in energy,” like PlasBossinade did in this football programme, became the indispensable legal architects of the region’s modern economy.