Odsal Stadium the plot thickens : Tue Jan 14, 2020 9:46 pm
Ralph Rimmer has outlined the three options the RFL is exploring regarding the future of Odsal Stadium, which has prompted a response from a source at Bradford Council.Bradford will play home fixtures at Dewsbury’s Tetley’s Stadium in 2020, but the club’s new ownership has been steadfast in its commitment to taking the Bulls back to the city.
RFL chief executive Rimmer admits that the governing body’s preferred option would be for the three-time world champions to return to their spiritual home.
He said: “The options we are looking at currently are selling, the possibility of us developing, or the possibility of the Bulls coming back
Those are the three options, basically, and we’re looking at those in conjunction with Bradford Council and the Bulls.
“Our preferred option would be for the Bulls to come back into Odsal, but it will require the Council to be a part of that solution in order to make that happen.
“We are speaking with the Council on a regular basis and I know that they were a guest of the Bulls club at Leeds on Sunday, on how we might achieve that.
“I know it is the spiritual home of the team, but the team has got to decide it can come back.”
Rimmer added that a swift resolution is necessary to minimise the costs presently being incurred by “the Rugby League community” as a result of Odsal sitting empty.
He added: “Odsal is an asset that belongs to the RFL, that belongs to the sport, and that’s it.
“Whilst nobody is using that asset it is a cost to the sport, and any cost that may be incurred this year will effectively be shared out between the Rugby League community.
“That can’t go on and it’s not acceptable for that to go on forever and a day.
A source at Bradford Council responded to Rimmer’s comments.
They said: “The only way we can see a future for Odsal is the offer we presented to the RFL and Bradford Bulls, build a brand new community stadium with a capacity of 18,000 on the now vacant Richard Dunn site, which would include Bradford City, and make it a multi-sport education hub.
“We would then fill in Odsal with clean waste to generate revenue which would help fund the new stadium development.”
I know this is not Trinity related, but a lot of rugby league money has been used initially without public knowledge. I still think there should have been a full public investigation of the past few years on this matter.