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 !

Damned if we do or damned if we don’t

Thanks Pete........

The thread is the future of grounds, what's this about London Broncos wanting to use Wimbledon's Plough Lane?

It's not your mob getting the nod is it? (assuming you were a Crusader and are now a Bronco?)

The Bulls may not get 12th. place as there are some late rumours on London Broncos looking to make some big changes that could be for Superleague re-entry.........

But even so doesn't it make sense that if the RFL own Odsal, that they should not look to rent it back to Bradford Bulls??

& that is why it has been a done deal from day 1 .....

The Bulls CAN'T afford to play at the Bomb Crater unless they are in Super League & pulling 6,000 + crowds, Bulls know this, the RFL know this, Super League Europe know this, which is why they have all say down together since before this mini franchise has come into public knowledge !!!

It's really not very difficult to understand.

Finally reality is kicking in, so now we have people understanding that the bulls are not ready for superleague,, I’m a bulls fan and my cards have been on the table a while Leigh Leigh Leigh, and if it’s not them then I hope it’s York

Yeah I've though it'll be Leigh all along and that would still be my guess. Just goes to show though, that none of us have a clue.

The Wimbledon ground looks great but given the Broncos chequered history of moving grounds, often to opposite sides of London and losing fans in the process id want to see them do a season or two there to check what the support level is like first. Though I'd imagine Ealing is a cheaper option for Championship rugby.

I understand entirely, fair play it was Leigh. You mention also York which I guess was your second choice.

But why not Bradford 2022? What will not be ready then and where will York maintain an edge?

To me Ealing provided stability, whilst this move seems to cry out "ambition". The club have moved venues repeatedly over the years following that ambition to little avail.

I thought their owner had settled down somewhat? I'd be interested in what their ambition is beyond a shiny new venue?

having watched JK and Sawyer video clips I noticed the new housing estate in the background they've got some good views into the stadium wonder what their thoughts will be if the stock cars get the go ahead

It looks a very good ground and Wimbledon are fan owned and have done incredibly well to get this far having had their team stolen from them...but my doubts would be is it really an RL area? Londoners love to mock the South Bank for its transport links and you could pretty much write off the month of June for home games due to the whole area being Tennis obsessed.

I'd want to see them do a couple of years there to test the market before they are back in SL, but seems they will only move if promoted.

I wish London well but the endless migration has always struck me as really odd. Surely putting down roots somewhere and staying put would be helpful. And you'd think that would be somewhere working class where the locals could perhaps buy into it. Why do they move so often?

They need a forever home to build a fanbase

Looking for a crowd I guess. Didn't they do rather well for crowds at Charlton, but could not afford the rent, maybe didn't get the profits from the bars/food??

There is this matchday income thing. This depends not just on numbers but what they pay to get in and where they pay to watch, and what they buy at the ground.

Ealing attracted around 2,000 but what was the take per head? I guess it was low? What was the rent? Will it be the same at Wimbledon if Broncos are the only club sharing? Could be less, we just don't know the deal - but we can guess it's a better one.....

Could be as simple as that

I think we sometimes forget that "London" as a geographical entity is almost meaningless. I feel for their fans because the poor buggers never know where they'll be from one year to the next, and also people who may have been attracted at one location may find the travel is offputting when they next move. That lack of continuity surely harms their ability to get and keep new fans.

Good point. I can remember London always bringing a small travelling band of fans to games oop t'north, but seen that less and less in recent years.

The distance to travel to away games is of course a couple of hundred miles both ways for their fans every time as opposed to a one off trip to Toronto or Toulouse. The distance to travel to the four corners of London is less relevant than the time it takes, and the tediousness of the journeys

After their first season in the game London crowds settled down, and down and down and down...By Superleague time they were 800, but they did hit some crowd heights again with the mighty Wigan pulling in 10,000 and Brisbane also pulling in 10,000 for them. I think London's sporting Connisours know exactly where they are and they will come for the big fixtures when the Broncos are competitive and the opposition top notch.

So I don't think Mr. Lenegan and Mr. Hughes are after big crowds, merely the best that can get into a stadium that presents well and doesn't cost a lot to rent. I'm sure Wimbledon AFC need the regular rent as well.... maybe it's just a good deal for Lenegan, Hughes, Wimbledon and the Broncos core fan base in London. After all London Broncos aren't a business, just a passion for Lenegan and Hughes..............

Yep, sounds exciting, and it's a 10 year deal thats being discussed, it was actually in the pipeline before 12th spot came up for grabs, BUT, I think we'd be premature to start crowing about our shiny new rented home just yet, we were promissed Barnet Coptal and at the 19th instant it was given to Saracens who most definately did not want to share. We we're promissed the Hockey Stadium after the Olympics.....It was ripped up (in a manner that didn't allow re-use) and deposited in a dump just outside Chelmsford....... We were promissed "preffered bidder" as co-tenents with Brentford at the new Lionel Road Stadium........London Irish got it, despite Brentford's objections to their season running concurrent to the Football Season...........So I'm expecting either London Welsh/Scottish or Richmond RUFC's to nip in and steal it away any minute!

Could be an excellent move for London Broncos but as always it is hard to tell with that club. I know that Wimbledon is South London but never been to Trailfinders, is it a big move ?
I suppose it will all boil down to finances & quality of stadium.*for future Super League applications/inclusion* & how many new fans the move attracts against how many current fans are lost.

If it is indeed a 10 year deal that would help as the nomadic existence is not conducive to attracting or retaining a fan base !

I wish London luck with this move.

Good luck mate.....