I would love to know if the RFL has used any of the Government Loan & therefore Taxpayers money to do up Odsall for the benefit of one Club & the RFL's failed lease ?

FOI would probably be ignored for as long as possible, i.e until Bradford Bulls have moved back in & been placed back into Super League !

*they couldn't legally ignore it forever* !

Well that's bloody easy to answer. No one has done anything at all to "do up" odsal. I n fact youtube videos prove that since Bradford left its been vandalized and is in an even worse state. What makes you think they've spent anything?!

Somebody said as much up thread !
I've seen the videos, I think they go back to spring time, it is a mess. However, if they have spent money on it, then I wouldn't at all be surprised to find out it's from the taxpayers loan !

Here is the claim that £500K "has been" *past tense* spent !

Unless they've done it in secret I've not heard anything from fellow bulls fans to suggest anything has been done.

Yet the RFL seem confident Odsall can be ready for March !
Anyway, it wasn't me who said it had been spent.

Well, it’s not likely that there’s been any secret deals between Bradford Bulls and the RFL over Odsal Stadium in the recent past, is it. I wonder

People may not agree with the RFL getting the Odsal lease but it wasn't a secret. Unless you are referring to another deal too secret for me to have heard about.

On the video the toilets were all kicked in Ste, but that would not have cost much to sort, as the club said, and as they did. Might be best to do any more repairs and upgrades whilst the club are back in there. Deserted premises attract vandals.

No, this is the subject I refer to. When this deal cam to light there was a lot of dissatisfaction amongst the RFL member clubs, and even more dissatisfaction when it became apparent the RFL paid over the odds compared to its real value.

If you think in narrow terms about just what the land value is worth then yes perhaps it was too much. But you have to then add in how iconic it is. Icons cost a total mint.

I think you miss understand iconic, the word is “ironic”

The original "purchase" of the lease was indeed a secret initially and then when the news finally broke, we all discovered what an "iconic" ground Odsal was. Apparently too good and iconic to be lost to the sport and nothing to do with trying to prevent Bradford going bust



Those curly corners and short pitch certainly are unique to professional sport but, "iconic" was always stretching a point.

How id Bradford City cope with it's unique playing surface or, did they just shorten the pitch ?

Why are people calling it iconic? The correct term is “dump”

I agree, why did the RFL take over the lease, only for Bradford Bulls to leave it at the end of 2019. BIZARRE DECISION, I had no idea our governing body had so much spare cash

Vandalised toilet blocks do not cost £500K to fix !
I have been to Odsall recently, it's a shanty !!!

Its two toilet blocks and it's the only the sinks that need replacing.

No they don't ste, obviously other repairs and upgrades come into it agreed. I went to Odsal for the first time in the early 1970's for a Yorkshire Cup final and then for the Championship Final Dewsbury won, with Mike Stephenson lifting the trophy. It was even worse then, the far end was literally a rubbish heap. It was a bit better in the 2000's but not that great, however it didn't put the fans off one bit. Top Crowds.

FWIW I'd certainly ensure [uboth[/u Leigh and Bradford were in Superleague next season. FWIW Mr. Beaumont doesn't seem upset, he seems to relish winning the Championship and getting promoted on Merit. You never know. you may pass the Bradford fans on the way up at the end of next season whilst they go the other way.

They dont (have spare cash., The monies to cover the cost of the lease etc are creamed from the top of the TV deal and other income
I guess that it was a blunder by the RFL to take over the lease but, we are all paying the price.
The money, literally being thrown into a hole in the ground could certainly be used for many, many better things within the sport.

It's an absolute scandal

And the solution they (the RF have come up with, is to pay out even more cash and promote Bradford, ahead of more deserving clubs.

How, in any sport or business, can this be right ??

I find it so funny that people in there own heads think that it’s a given that the bulls will be in superleague next year, and yet after the announcement tomorrow no one will say I’m shocked it’s not the bulls, please stop torchering yourselves

If the Bulls don’t get the 12th place tomorrow, then it’s even more scandalous that, the RFL are pumping more money from the RFL,(member clubs) into the Odsal stadium (money pit). I think it’s time member clubs held the RFL hierarchy to account.

If you have followed the drama in the RL press, it's been clear enough has been leaked to indicate it will be the Bulls........

If you want to discuss the phenomenon of people deciding in their own heads what the future of the game is gonna be, look no further than Toronto Wolfpack who were according to many expansion experts on message boards, going to lead the game to Transatlantic success but instead wasted £30 Million and lost interest...

It gets worse, now a small RL club in France that don't even have £3Million to waste are to lead us to European Continental success.....

But no criticism intended, nothing wrong with a bit of romanticism......

I agree, if we can't sustain expansion here at home, going abroad is just a fantasy, we should have our own League and then a European Cup, where we can play the top French sides. As for the Trans-Atlantic fantasy, thats exactly what it was/is.

Mmm interesting that the rfl member clubs didn’t have any issues when they received a divided share in the bulls sky monies a few years ago,,, whoops can’t talk about that because it’s long gone

Well, that shines a new light on the matter !