Was there supposed to be some news of the odsal village in late March? Am I mistaken on this?

Apparently meeting behind by a couple of issues i would say late April or beginning of may is more likely now

Hood Says some stuff in Friday nights program, i dont have it to hand to write it out verbatium but the gist was that the viablity report ran 2 weeks over and is ready to be published , and the cousil have pushed it to 2nd priority of all its projects behind only the school rebuilding. no further info on wether or not city would be joining us.



think that was about it , but if anyone has it to hand and doesnt mind typing it out , it might put right anything iv got wrong

I caught an interesting interview with the chairman of City's supporters trust on the radio who is still keen to see us at VP sharing with City. They are for the OSV just minus the stadium with us sharing VP as the home of "professional" sport in the city.

Strange how all the talk from city fans of wanting us at VP only comes out in month or two prior to decision re OSV and has never been mentioned in preceding six years. ( and soundbites apart if you look on their forums there pretty universally against it).

What with Wakefield plans for a new community stadium in got me thinking in regards to current grounds that teams play at. With relation to the licensing system this may become more and more relevant and with some NL teams apparenlty having better facilities than some Super League teams it may be something that becomes relevant and we could face a current SL team losing a license. As I see it teams with current and modern facilities at the moment and therefore seem to have a certain future regarding their stadiums are:



Huddersfield Giants-

Harlequins RL

Hull FC

Wigan Warriors

Warrington Wolves



Now there are a group of teams which have recognised there need for a totally new ground and have proposed and set about accordingly. These Teams are in the process of Building/Planning Brand-New and state of the art Stadiums:



Salford City Reds

Castleford Tigers

Wakefield Wildcats

Saint Helens



This leaves a few teams left:



Leeds Rhinos

Hull KR

Bradford Bulls

Catalan Dragons

Celtic Crusaders



Now. Celtic and Catalans have reasonable grounds and if they plan accordingly and regenerate as they proposed when getting their licenses then they will have no issues in obtaining future licenses due to the state of their grounds in my opinion. The games wanting to be promoted in francce and Wales and I cannot see the RFL letting these teams licenses be lost due to the state of their grounds. my opinion of course.



Hull KR are similar to Bradford in the sense that their ground was used for speedway but Hull KR dont have the luxury of the natural slope (or bowl) that Odsal has. They have however (I think 2006) refurbed Craven park and are planning more extensions and a whole new stand (I think some time this year?)



Leeds's ground is an example of an old ground that has had significant improvements and has more plans of refurbishment. Although many clubs are moving to newer venues I think redevelopment of Headingley will only serve to make it a better stadium with a feel of history around it. For me the Carnegie Stand is pretty much one of the best in SL.



That leaves us with the Bulls and Odsal/Grattan Stadium. Bradfords "plans" for this are for it to link up with the surrounding land and the Richard Dunns leisure Centre and re-develop the whole area into a "Sporting Village." This sporting village concept has been thrown around for a long time now, as have groudshares with Bradford City etc etc. I'm hoping it does happen not just for the Club but for the whole of Rugby league. The last major developments to Odsal was the Coral Stand and whilst it is a brilliant addition to the stadium, in doesn't bring anything to your average fan. Im just wondering what people think will happen if a) Odsal Sporting Village doesnt happen and b) What other possible plans for improvements the Bulls do/Should have.



I appreciate this post is highly subjective and circumstancial, who knows what will happen. I also recognise that licenses aint handed out on grounds alone. But its an interesting topic in my opinion......Especially with the likes of Widnes Leigh et al wanting licenses come 2011. There Stadiums are top notch.

At present OSV looks more likely to go ahead than previous schemes but as we all know, plans for Odsal have a funny way of falling by the wayside.



If the OSV doesn't happen the club will have to decide whether it has a future at Odsal. Given the running costs I'd say not as the club has no wealthy backer and non have ever come forward. That will mean a new home is necessary. That would need to be in the Bradford area so leaves VP as the only real option.



On the issue of getting a SL license I don't think any club would lose their license based on ground facilities alone. We got a grade B at the last assessment, which suggests we're not in any danger. If the club were still at Odsal in 3 years but still pulling in 10k fans and maintaining the work to develop itself in the community and relatively successful on the field there's no way the Bulls would not remain in SL.

Stadium-related issues account for four of the ten licensing criteria points:



1. Capacity of 12k+

2. Average crowd 10k+

3. Ground over 40% full

4. Premier standard ground.



Bulls obviously lose a point for 4, but pass the rest. And will continue to do so provided fans continue to turn up (we need about 10.5k-11k average to be safe under point 3).



I raise this because a lot of fekkwits across the MBS talk a load of garbage about how licensing seems to be all about the grounds, under the present criteria. You clearly appreciate otherwise, and are referring more to what might happen in the future if the criteria become more stadium-weighted.



To be honest, regardless of licensing - if we don't get the OSV, or something very similar, then I cannot see the Bulls still being around - at least at SL level. Nothing to do with licensing; everything to do with money.



We have been prevented from developing the ground with a commercial partner (don't even go there...trust me!) and lack the resources to do more than basic care and maintenance on the ground as it is. We cannot move anyway without having to pay a 7-figure penalty to the Council that is far beyond our means. Unless a Whelan or Lenaghan or Moran or Caddick or Davy or McManus or Wilkinson or whatever comes knocking, we'll not be able to compete. IMO its the OSV or a very uncertain future, unless the Council (in a re-run of 2002) forces us down to Valley Parade and waives the penalty to engineer it.

The problem here is that I suspect it is all or nothing. If we struggle to make it at SL level, with Sky money and (relatively) high crowds I can't see any way that we could survive at Odsal at all in any lower league.





See above. Though it may not go down well in Keighley, it seems to me (under those circumstances) that there would be a strong possibility that the Council wouldn't be able to enforce the penalty (i.e. if the club were to be bankrupt). Indeed, if caught between the Scylla of unsustainable costs at Odsal and the Charybdis of the penalty clause, it might be politically and even financially preferable for the Council to waive some or all of the penalty to allow us to continue in existence - at VP.



Though, of course, we are talking about Bradford Council...

Quite. If we're still at an undeveloped Odsal then the club wouldn't survive in the NLs.







If the OSV fails to come off I expect this outcome.









Good point, anything could happen!







Great word! Never heard that before.

I really don't want to go back to VP. I don't mind sharing with City, but I just hate VP, and it's location.

If OSV falls through and we want to watch RL in Bradford VP may be our only option.



Given the choice between the Bulls at VP and no Bulls at all it's an easy choice.



However let's not be premature, the OSV is still firmly on the agenda.

I was going to say "between a rock and a hard place", but the other version is way classier!

For the avoidance of doubt, IMO:



1. If we have to remain at Odsal, as is, with no OSV, we won't survive. As MDF says. My comment "...at least at SL level" was speculating that a new phoenix club would arise at a lower level like Oldham, or Gateshead and playing somewhere else. Sorry should have made this clear.



2. If the OSV does not go ahead, then I would indeed expect the Council to agree to waive the exit penalty provided we moved to VP. That way, they get the site back and can redevelop the freehold, and City are effectively bailed out through a new income stream. Everyone wins, except the Bulls who would at least get to survive.

Bit of Greek mythology creeping in there! Pair of sea monsters living either side of a narrow strait, so you could not avoid one without getting caught by the other, IIRC? I don't know enough to be able to say whether some ancient hero found a solution to this ancient rock-and-hard-place dilemma - anyone know - and any lessons for us now? Hell, we need all the help we can get!

It was Jason.

We need Mr. Crookes back as quickly as possible.

[urlhttp://www.superleague.co.uk/article.php?id=13815[/url When's our next news due?

19th March 2004.

T-t-t there must be some mistake.

Anyone hear this? www.bcst.co.uk/?q=node/1525 Or indeed hear anything, anything at all about this? Did it even take place? www.bcst.co.uk/?q=node/1510

Anyone hear this? www.bcst.co.uk/?q=node/1525 Or indeed hear anything, anything at all about this? Did it even take place? www.bcst.co.uk/?q=node/1510

Any of this left over ?

[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/8021160.stmbbc[/url

i thought that 10m of that had been set aside for OSV

Quote MQBlank="MQBlank"i thought that 10m of that had been set aside for OSV'" Indeed - upto 15m www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/n ... 2_5__rise/

Quote MQBlank="MQBlank"i thought that 10m of that had been set aside for OSV'" Indeed - upto 15m www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/n ... 2_5__rise/

Will the pull in HE funding impact our plans? www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... m_college_

Will the pull in HE funding impact our plans? www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... m_college_

O/T a bit, but a real compare and contrast article here. The fact that (most of) the others invest into general public facilities whereas Bradford Council gives £33k to each council ward really does typify everything that is wrong with the institution and its inability to coordinate anything centrally with a view to the future.



Why didn't they just go the whole hog and send every individual in the Bradford Met a £30 cheque and absolutely ensure beyond doubt that nothing significant comes of it? The fear of being criticised, offending people or just not being seen to do something that is unarguably 'fair' cripples this city so we always end up catering to the lowest common denominator.



(to any Cougars/City fans, not saying that it sould be OSV, just something, anything, that is a little bigger or else to be proud of.)