Slightly disappointed with the decision to go Lancashire from the RFL and being being utterly selfish with this have implications on us?

The 'we could locate at Odsal' scenario would have been a good one for us? Does this mean Odsal is now surplus to RFL requirements?

Now it looks like Chalmers has the foundations in place this kind of stuff makes me nervous and reach for the tin foil

Article of the move to the Etihad here www.rugby-league.com/article/519 ... had-campus The theory of various planets aligning to lead to a fancy new stadium and RFL HQ at Odsal was an attractive one but alas I think unlikely when you look at what would be required to make it happen. As for Odsal as far as I know it’s never been made clear what the club is paying in rent to the RFL and what the upkeep is costing. It cost the previous regime £75k a year in rent IIRC. That’s the same as our entire central distribution money from the RFL this year. That makes you think doesn’t it? As far as upkeep is concerned things like testing the crush barriers and upkeep of the stand roof and floodlights costs money. It’s clear that the floodlights haven’t been maintained, I assume the rest has to be done for H&S reasons. Again I bet it costs a lot. We don’t use the turnstiles anymore – I wonder if this is a cost saving since they may need maintenance. Fact is while we’re playing at Odsal it will remain a millstone. I can’t see us getting into SL while it remains as it is.

Article of the move to the Etihad here www.rugby-league.com/article/519 ... had-campus The theory of various planets aligning to lead to a fancy new stadium and RFL HQ at Odsal was an attractive one but alas I think unlikely when you look at what would be required to make it happen. As for Odsal as far as I know it’s never been made clear what the club is paying in rent to the RFL and what the upkeep is costing. It cost the previous regime £75k a year in rent IIRC. That’s the same as our entire central distribution money from the RFL this year. That makes you think doesn’t it? As far as upkeep is concerned things like testing the crush barriers and upkeep of the stand roof and floodlights costs money. It’s clear that the floodlights haven’t been maintained, I assume the rest has to be done for H&S reasons. Again I bet it costs a lot. We don’t use the turnstiles anymore – I wonder if this is a cost saving since they may need maintenance. Fact is while we’re playing at Odsal it will remain a millstone. I can’t see us getting into SL while it remains as it is.

On the plus side it puts to bed the whole RFL / Odsal conspiracy theories once and for all.

And when you take a look at the state of the art facilities at the Etihad you can see why they wouldn't want to come to a dump like Odsal, so - trying to be objective - you can't argue with the decision.

On the other side of things it does beg the question of what exactly is the point of the RFL owning Odsal now that it doesn't seem like they plan on moving the operation there?

The facilities at the Ethiad are amazing. If they are going to be included in the next phase of the development, that is a great sign for the sport, even if not for ourselves.

It's pretty depressing. "Yes we do lease the iconic Odsal, but it's not good enough for us. We need to preserve it from the vultures for the game ... but why? it will do for playing our level but this sounds very much like there is no future for Odsal as a RL stadium. Maybe we should get used to that

No doubt the facilities will be good but it is money leaving the RL family and even to a city that doesn't have a team.

My mind was cast back to you being told we, as club, were surplus to RFL reqs. So now they have their shiny new toys you can be fairly certain there's a off load of the stadium in the offing with CBMDC wanted to get rid too once the new sports centre is built.

With the SL chairmen magnanimously yanking up the draw bridge I get the feeling our time has really passed this time.

If the RFL no longer have plans for Odsal, then it’s more likely we’ll get it back at cost. If only for the RFL to disentangle themselves from the conflict of interest and governance issues that creates

I suspect any change in the status of Odsal won't come about for a few years yet. The RFL will want some water to pass under the bridge first. If we have some drama free years and show that we're capable of ticking along then it becomes more likely. At the moment it's too soon.

However I think it will happen at some stage. Whether the lease is sold to the club owner or is just handed back to the Council who knows.

As for a place at the top table. I think we'll be back but it might be as long as 10 years. I heard that more than one SL club had to appeal for financial help from the RFL last year and that precarious position won't be helped much by helping themselves to the paltry amount that shared between C1 clubs. It's not in their interest to let us wither and die.

But how is that interest measured, and who is measuring?

because so far as the SL clubs are concerned, we've been dead for years and there's no imminent Lazarusesque return. I would be interested if someone could work out what the absence of a top-6 level Bulls has likely cost the SL clubs. (Hypothetically, as the net worth of the wounded and limping animal we were immediately before being put down is not the best yardstick)

On the subject of the benefit of away fans, somebody else on the Forum wrote:

JESUS WEPT

HOW MANY TIMES?????
£20 a ticket and £15 on beer and merchandise.....so an away fan is worth £35. At best, 1,000 is the average away support split across 11 rounds and I am being really generous here, so Toronto, replacing say Wakefield will cost a SL club £35,000.
The minimum turnover of a SL club is £4,000,000 so Toronto instead of Wakefield is worth less than 1% of a SL clubs turnover.

There are many valid reasons for and against expansion into America, but "AWAY FANS" isn't one of them.

Is that really the average away support for an entire season? Only 1000 people? For the top tier of any sport that is dreadful if accurate.

From what I see on Sky I'd be surprised if it was that many...

Clubs aren't going to attract any neutral fans so it's down to them to build up their own followings. Some just don't seem to be able to that it very well like Salford and Hudders for instance. If they take 1000 fans to away matches I'm Brian Blessed.

Gordon’s alive

We took 2,000 to York in League 1. Surely take more in the Super League.

Except we didn't. I attended every home and away game back when we were in Super League and I remember the last couple of years when the away following had massively dwindled. It was nowhere near 2,000.

I think we can get back to that level. Provided we continue to progress.

I can understand that as losing means people dwindling especially from going from WCC Champions to bottom of league. It seems our away following has increased since we were relegated but home support has dropped drastically.

I know the players and club go on about atmospheres but unless there is 7k or more in Odsal there isn't one. Maybe the smaller grounds and proximity to the pitch of away grounds provides that atmosphere and that's what draws people to away games. It's far more entertaining to be in that kind environment.

Cougar Park Sunday

That's correct Hamster, and to be fair, only shows how much the fans making up the current away following are investing in the management and coaching set up. The club is much smaller now on just about any scale you choose to use but the "buzz" around the place is massive.

You seem to be a histrionic sort of chap. Maybe you chould calm down a little. No need to shout.

If you did, then you would remember that normally the game against the Bulls was a red letter day for the coffers of most clubs, and this is because it was back in the day an extremely attractive fixture. So your "pluck out of the air" figure of 1000 fans is nonsensical and irrelevant. The only relevant measure for a club is the total of speccies attracted to any given game. The total. They don't care where they are from, they don't care if they are home oraway fans, they just care about the total.

Only an idiot or troll would deny that very consistently for all clubs their fixture against the Bulls was one of the biggest attendances and biggest income days they had.

That has, on a smaller scale, remained true in the Championship, and now in League 1 York broke their home crowd record by over 1000. The crowd was well over 4000. How many from Bradford? Plenty, but that really doesn't matter, now does it? We delivered the club by a very long way their biggest ever home payday and it won't be the last. And that's when we are a fallen club in the lower league doldrums.

the Keighley News reported:



So maybe swallow your pride and attempt to reconnect with reality.