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...