There are corners in life for idiots like him

I hope the new stadium does get built, as it may well be easier said than done, even with the council in Bradford's corner.

And you'll see that there's more spectators in them, than were at the old grounds. Not to mention the huge improvement in facilities.

The big issue for Bradford Bulls is the RFL not sanctioning a move. I'm second guessing a bit, but I'd expect the RFL would require compensation on whatever lease(s) they still hold, prior to a move being agreed.

I've watched Huddersfield play at Fartown, Leeds Road and the John Smith's, so I find this a bit rich given some of your recent history.

There's not much they can do to block it really. The lease that was in place for Odsal has now expired, Dewsbury have already agreed to allow Bradford to share the ground and the RFL have previously announced that Dewsbury was suitable for SL games when there was a chance of Wakefield playing there.

I don't doubt that your correct, but some folk can be very spiteful at times. Ground sharing in Dewsbury may have been fine back in the day, but the RFL could suddenly find fault with it now.

Back in the day? I'm pretty certain the potential ground share with Dewsbury and Wakefield was suggestion only a couple of years ago.

A couple of years, what does it matter - do you trust the RFL is what I'm alluding to?

About as far as I could comfortably spit out a moose

That is assuming Bradford get promoted in the near future. If not then it will be plenty of time for Bradford to get the ground sorted

My thoughts for what it is worth.. from the bulls point of view, we don’t seem to have much of a choice but to leave odsal. The costs involved are just not sustainable for a super league team never mind a championship one (which is what we are likely to be for the foreseeable future!). If the rumours of the costs of sharing with dewsbury are true it’s has game changer for Bradford in being able to survive.

Do I want to move? Not really. I weirdly always loved odsal. Do I know we have to move? Yes 100%. We either move or we go pop again within 2 years. Regardless of how the situation came about, and who’s fault it is, that’s the reality.

I very much doubt the bulls will be back in a new shiny stadium in Bradford in two years time. Not going to happen for nine. The bulls will be travelling for the next 5 years at least if you ask me. What that will do to the fan base I’m not sure.

I’m sure the rfl would want the bulls to stay at odsal purely for the rent but, unless a lower rent is agreed, it’s cutting the nose off to spite the face if they forced Bradford to stay in odsal and go bust again.

As said before, rfl need to sell the lease back to the council. Council sell the odsal land for development (probably commercial). New smaller Max 10/12k capacity stadium is built over the road on the Richard Dunn site with leisure facilities to fit sport England and health and well being government targets and hopefully park avenue move in two.

Issue is that has been needed for maybe 20/25 years so far and waiting.

New stadium in two years?? Sure just ask Wakefield, Castleford, York, Oldham, Swinton, London etc

Why does it cost so much money to keep Odsal going?

Probably has something to do with the underhand way the RFL acquired the lease, by snatching it before the administrator was called in years ago for a clandestine loan they made to Bradford without informing any other member clubs. The RFL are trying to recoup the (loan) by charging a high rent and passing all the maintenance costs onto the tenant which are astronomical on an ancient stadium..

I thought the rent is a negligible 70k or so a year. The true cost is the upkeep which is a burden transferred from the leaseholder to the club. That's rumoured to be in the region of £300k to £500k per annum just to maintain it's rather tired current state, and that's what makes it unaffordable to stay.

I always wondered why the 1st administrator didn't look at that. He had the authority to. Basically the RFL took the only asset Bulls had left (the lease) and got rid of their unsecured loan at the same time and then 6months later the other creditors were left with nothing.

Ask yourself why we moved into the HJS, and it will make sense.

With maintenance costs of £00 to £500k per annum, that would suggest that Odsal is a total dead duck and it is now up to the RFL and Braford Council to decide what could/ should happen to the lease ??
However, does anyone know exactly what Bradford and The RFL committed themselves to in terms of who would pay what and for how long.
Was it a case of The RFL jumping in too quickly and not knowing how or who would pay them back or, were Bradford themselves too naïve in wanting to stay at Odsal.
Surely, when they signed back up to play at Odsal, they were aware of the costs involved and now, plying their trade in the lower leagues, they realise they are unable to afford to stay.
Walking away when they have signed a long term lease would be very poor form, unless the burden of maintaining the ground has changed, after the lease was agreed.

Well York’s is nearly done been delayed but York city will be playing in it this season and The RL next season now. But it’s nit our in the sky like the other clubs.

That’s the thing, Chalmers didn’t like the look of the terms of the lease so didn’t sign. Lease runs out end of September

The Rfl have the bulk of a 130yr lease with the council left.

Bradford don't have a loan from the RFL now. When the RFL bought the lease they subtracted the loan from the selling price of the lease so the loan was repaid years ago.

With respect to the administrator, the lease was sold about 2 months before admin 1, in fact selling the lease was the final straw that made admin 1 inevitable. The lease was an asset which helped secure a bank overdraft. When we didn't own the lease anymore, the bank called in the overdraft resulting in Our chairman making his public appeal for £500k, I guess to pay the bank and stop them putting us into administration. Fat lot of use that was, including my £400 for me and each of the 3 kids who'd followed the Bulls/Northern in my case

Andrew charmers was willing to spend money on it providing he has the lease back, the rfl didn’t want him to have the lease back, so I reckon the council and the rfl have had there heads together and come up with this idea in order to make it look like the bulls was leaving of there own choice, the the council buy back the lease off the rfl for a rather larger sum, the council then sell odsal for a very large sum, and the rfl give themselves a very large bonus

Don't really see why the council should pay a large sum for the lease. What can the RFL do with it?

The council want it back in order to sell it, it’s not rocket science