Willem de Kok, director of Martiniplaza, on the Lelylijn

Willem de Kok has now been director of Martiniplaza in Groningen for ten years. Before that, he worked at various publishing houses, including the Dagblad van het Noorden newspaper. Martiniplaza is the largest venue in the Northern Netherlands and offers theater performances, music performances, festivals, top sports, conferences and events. “No day is the same here!”

What about the accessibility of Martiniplaza?
“It’s great that the ring road around Groningen is now finished, but that doesn’t mean that accessibility is now optimal. Public transportation really could be a lot better. Our audience and participants come from a huge region. We serve the five northern provinces anyway. And if we have a special production, visitors also come from North Holland. For the conference market, people often come from even further afield, so we receive many international guests.

Good accessibility is very important for Martiniplaza. We would like to see improved connections from the rest of the Netherlands, especially from Randstad. That would make our position even more attractive.”

What do you think Lelylijn can do? What opportunities and possibilities do you see?
“For our international visitors, Schiphol is an important supply route. International guests often depend on public transportation, and with a smooth 1.5-hour train connection, they can easily get to Groningen. And that is not only good for Martiniplaza, but also for the city and the region. A new rail line costs a lot of money, but the economic spin-off is also worth a lot. Martiniplaza already accounts for an annual spin-off of 40 million. A conference visitor spends an average of about 300 to 350 euros per day, think for example of spending on catering and overnight stays. De Lelylijn would make it easier for us to strengthen our position as a congress city.

As for theater and music performances, sometimes we have exclusive productions that, besides Groningen, can only be seen in cities such as Breda or Rotterdam. With these productions we reach a wide audience in the country. De Lelylijn can make a big difference. If people know they can travel from Amsterdam to Groningen by train in an hour and a half, that’s a huge advantage. With better connections, you make your position a lot more attractive. And what is also important is that by doing so we contribute to more sustainable transport.”