Wigan have paid theirs £78K if my memory serves me right.

What you say about Odsal may be correct, but given its present ste, the cost of converting the site intosome form of "Northern Wembley" would possibly be more than starting from scratch on new ground, which could perhaps have some form of development status.
Although almost choking whilst typing, Glasshoughton, for instance.
So I dont go for the "potential asset" theory, more like the "Bailout Brigade"
I hope it works out though, there appears to be clouds on the horizon with this one.

How big is the stadium/site at Glasshoughton?

Just checked it's 13,300 capacity. What use is that to the RFL trying to market a World cup/Tri Nations etc?

Good point. At least there will be no further instances of Mr Hood contacting his landlords and demanding two league points when the heroics of the Rhinos earn them with legitimate late game tries.

Absolutely correct; I couldn't have put it better myself, so I won't try.

Pathetic.

Erm, no.

Think I might go out of my way to go to a few games actually.

I like the line about saving an evocative old stadium. Is this the same type of evocative old stadium the RFL are wanting rid off in favour of concrete lego stadiums?.

I had some good long chats with all four of the Bulls' senior management team tonight, including the Chairman. I really don't know any easy way of breaking this to you gently, dear readers, so I won't try. It is my duty to report to you now that, it transpires, the RFL press release was actually pretty factual. It was not really spun much at all.

I know, its a shock.

But it seems it was indeed substantially the truth.

I now have a much clearer understanding of where the threat to the Bulls' continuing tenure at Odsal came from, and of the background to the RFL's intervention and their interest in Odsal. And, if you are a Bulls fan, its a hell of a lot more positive than anything we have had served up to us in many a day.

It was ' substantially ' the truth, so not completely the truth, so what makes you think we believe what you were told or what you are telling us is the complete truth?

Sorry Adey , it matters not, you were ' bailed out ' , hopefully you wont need bailing out again

If I was a Bulls fan I would be ecstatic as they have been saved, their stadium is secured and all paid for by the Governing body who are funded by???
The rest of the sport called RL.
Nice one.

Many clubs in football have got into trouble with their landlords in fact two have only recently Northwich Victoria and Darlington and the football governing bodies have quite rightly kept out of it as it is not their concern as its up to individual clubs to ensure they have a home to play in, taking on a stadium liability is not what the Governing bodies are for end of story.
This I repeat is morally wrong and the RFL are smoke screening it that it is about a 'historical stadium' when in fact it is just a ground where one of their members plays in.
Odsal has never become what some have wanted it to be in its near 80 year history even despite numerous grand plans and lets face it that it never will as it is in the wrong place and it would cost far too much.
I am still annoyed that the RFL yet again do just what they want without consulting the wider membership as they have total control and jhen try justify it with bull that its a good deal and all that claptrap.

Adey,that reads like an rfl press release

Some of you lot are going to look very silly in years to come, you know. Write that down someplace so you don't forget.

The RFL intervention saved Bradford from the probability of having to abandon Odsal to the developers, and move into the hell hole that is Valley Parade, as very unequal partners slowly withering away starved of resources by new owners only interested in the soccer. The only thing any "interested party" was interested in was getting their hands on Bradford City and getting their hands on the Odsal site for development, to pay for it. Bulls were - as in 2001 - the sacrificial lamb.

"Bailout" it was not. "Rescue" it was not. Saving the club from escalating decline and eventual death by neglect it certainly was. Saving the game losing yet another non-soccer stadium, and especially one of such strategic importance for the future, again it certainly was. Hell, even the bloody council is happy with the outcome!

Anyway, I am now quite satisfied with what I have been told, and I do not believe the RFL has done anything to disadvantage the game or any of its constituent clubs. Indeed, quite the opposite. And so, quite frankly, I no longer care whether or not some of you choose to believe or disbelieve me.

Surely those are one of the same?.

j,c - "Bailout" and "rescue" - words used by others on these forums - imply very urgent action is required. "Saving the club from escalating decline..." indicates a much more protracted process - sort of death by a thousand cuts. More to the point, it indicates that having to move out of Odsal was seen as being the start of a slow, irreversible decline.

bren2k - thanks for the picture. Must admit I had you down for someone a bit younger though. Nice hat.

All hypothetical of course 'until the figures leak out' but if its true that the lease was bought for a million pounds,what happens to SLE in 2013 when/if Bradford start signing players of the same calibre as wigan,warrington,leeds etc when they've been signing scraps for the last few years?, the same as most of the rest of SLE?.
Surely the rfls intervention in Bradfords predicament woud then have altered the co of the league?.

Er, no, I don't think it will have altered Hetherington in any way at all.

Are people supposed to be reassured by this?



What you are saying is that you have been told by management in a private meeting some of the terms of the deal. You are not making public those terms, but do state that the RFL press release was "substantially the truth". Given the incompleteness of the statement and your claim that it was "substantially" true, this is hardly likely to remove the concerns many people have over this deal. I'm not sure how this takes us forward at all.

I don't suppose management said what the RFL was going to do to manage its serious conflicts of interest going forward?

I think every true RL fan is glad Odsal has been saved and fans of other clubs understand your joy in that (I wish the RFL had stepped in to save Central Park) but the terms of this deal need to be made public to restore confidence in the RFL. The RFL needs to spell out what steps it will take to ensure it is seen to be an independent regulator of SL while continuing to be the owner of a SL ground.

How does buying Bradford Bulls equate to 'getting their hands on the Odsal site'? They are two completely different things. In fact to move the club out of Odsal would be to breach the lease so the new owners of the club would no longer have that as tenure let alone any rights to development. The council's asset management department would simply own another massive hole in the ground.

If, in the course of this conversation Peter Hood has said that the RFL are delighted to get their hands on a unique site upon which build the National Rugby League Stadium for a relatively tiny amount, then I'm delighted for both the game as whole, delighted for the Bulls and delighted as a Bradfordian who would love to see the old girl re-developed in my lifetime. The predeatory developers story still doesn't quite wash as I don't see how you get the Odsal site through the Bulls.

I was talking about potential space and proximity to motoway networks and of course somewhat tongue in cheek as it would never happen, but as stated earlier a new build on flat land would be a far more cost effective way of creating a "Home" up north.
It is the spin that the RFL have put on this situation that has annoyed most fans, not the act itsef and trying to justify the reasons given in the press release just make the situation appear worse than it already is.
Odsal will NOT be developed into a new "Wembley"
It appears to simply be a mechanism for allowing an influx of cash to assist the club.
The one positive is that the RFL are trying to assist one of their member clubs, which is great, as long as they do not appear to have favourites when carrying out this kind of "rescue"

My last comment on this

If the RFL have helped out the Bulls due to the unforseen circumstances of the image rights issue putting them in an immiediate vunerable position, then I'm sort of all right with that, they are not the only club to get caught out try to use this loophole, and quite probably the RFL would have been aware of it from the start and the potential for problems associated with it

If the RFL have helped out the bulls because they are no longer viable as a SL club, or simply because of bad management , even if part of that is because Odsal is no longer the income stream generator it once was then sorry, but I'm not all right with it

IF Odsal is to be developed ( but that was refuted in the original statement ) then excellent news, as long as the Bulls pay rent commensurate with the quality of facility it becomes

What was annoying was the ' celebratory ' nature of some of your fans at the seemingly potential you might have blagged cash from the RFL and not been in immiediate need of it

As I said, all the best

I'm sorry mate but that story has bigger holes in it than the Costa Concordia, which is surprising because you usually talk a lot of sense on here.

You yourself have already categorically stated on here that the Bulls had security of tenure at Odsal on a very long lease.

In those circumstances, even if the council sold the freehold to developers the Bulls could not have been forced to "abandon Odsal to the developers" so long as they complied with the terms of the lease.

You are clever enough to know that with security of tenure nobody could force the Bulls out of Odsal if they didn't wish to leave voluntarily. Something is not right here.