www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/24 ... al-stadium

www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/24 ... al-stadium

Good news IMO. Just 60 years too late.

What? Does this mean that as and when Bradford need to renovate their stadium the RFL will be the ones paying for it?

Are you London in disguise!!!!!!!!!!!

Bradford don't own the stadium

Indeed. It was council owned prior to this unbelievable news. Coincides with our season launch tomorrow night as well, so I'll be on the track to get some answers.

I really hope the RFL can use the stadium and maybe redevelop it. Just put all around the terracing and it would be a fantastic RL venue, like nothing else seen around the country and a great semi-final and national leagues finals day venue, along with a great International venue which actually has an atmosphere.

Bought off the council seems like they were keen to off load, no doubt Tescos had their eye on the land.

Good move for the RFL. As much as many think its a dump it is does have great hospitality areas and might even give bulls the flexabilty to redevelop some of the 3 stands.

I know (the council do?) but, surely Bradford will never have to worry about stadium requirements for License criteria because its the RFL that own the place?

Unbelievable.

Seriously, the only thing I can think of why the RFL would have bought it is for a reason like this. As a Bradford fan, I seriously hope we get the redevelopment we've craved all along.

You need seats in ground these days. Not everyone can stand up for length of time. Seems your tinme traveling back to 50's when it held 100,000+

The rfl press release gives little away so i await with baited breath what the rfls real plans are with this stadium.

It could be good for NRC, Championship finals as well as CC/ international quarters or semis but is it really worth buying in this present day? Like Odem said, it would have been a good buy a while back - it could be the sports stadium.

Interestingly NRC or Championship final day tickets are not yet on sale so maybe they will be re-locating. I hope they don't take both to Yorkshire though it'd be nice to have one in Lancs and one in Yorkshire.

It'd be nice to see the RFL redevelop it a bit but according to that article, they don't seem to want too. I'd love to see the terraces upgraded and something good like that but in this modern day a 20,000 all seater sounds more likely.

Don't Bradford council have plans to make a sports village there?

I suspect anyone thinking great things will soon come of this will be disappointed, at least in the short term. The press release itself implies that.

I suspect the reasons may be rather more sobering. But I'd be delighted to see something positive come out the Odsal ownership and development saga at last. Hope springs eternal...

The RFL are giving very, very little away at this moment in time it seems. Yes, the council did have plans for a sports village. But the projected costs were catastrophical and it has just never seemed to happen.

I'm not sure if they were ever officially dropped or whether the ever increasing references to "difficult conditions" were clues for us to draw our own conclusions, but I think I'm safe in saying that no they do not. And in any case, I think they might have to own it before they can start getting the builders in.

At the end of the day RL doesn't have a home whereas all the other top sports in the country do.

Football - Wembley
Rugby Union - Twickenham
Tennis - Wimbledon
Cricket - Lords
Golf - St Andrews
Athletics - Olympic stadium
Motorsport - Silverstone

Many minor sports will now have a home as part of the Olympic legacy.

Our sport needs something to own. Somewhere to play our big games. Keep the finals at Old Trafford and Wembley because it works but we need a semi-final venue we won't have to pay rent for, a finals day venue we won't have to pay rent for, an international venue we actually own as a sport. Somewhere we can rent out for concerts and other events, the place could potentially make a tidy profit for the RFL. Most of the profit for the RFU comes from Twickenham.

Stick a fancy roof all around Odsal, do the place up, give it the things it needs to be a classy modern day venue along with the old fashioned RL style venue. It would look like nothing else in the UK.

theres god money to be made in land filling. Prehaps the RFL are diversifying

Wow. 18 posts into the thread, I was expecting something this droll a little earlier. Bravo for biting your lip for so long.

I actually like Odsal, I used to watch the stock cars there, but it is a money pit.

Because of the nature of the stadium and surrounds it would cost an absolute fortune to do any serious modifications. It will be interesting to see who are responsible for what.

Do Bradford have money troubles we don't know about?

Which would be a great idea if stadium quality wasn't a factor in deciding SL licences. If the Bulls effectively get given a super-duper stadium for free by the RFL I imagine that a few other clubs might just complain a little...

the rfl are absolute to$$ers! how come they weren't so d to help other clubs?

I don't think it's quite as easy as it sounds. The shape of the current bowl and the nature of the surrounding ground will make it expensive.

The press release reads as if the RFL stepped in at the last minute to prevent the ground being sold to a private developer. If so then that sets an interesting precedent...

Corrupt to the core this game, my last pennies have been spent on this game, whilst these crooks are in charge my cash stays in my pocket.