Bulls to leave Odsal

There was a personal guarantee on the last one which is why Mr Khan is paying it back

 

Is or Has? The council refuse to give any details of whether it has been repaid, Only to say that SOME of the money has been repaid,
Apart from that the Bulls have had many millions from the ratepayers in the past

 

This is the best long term solution but the Bulls need to come to the table with super league rugby and that isn't going to happen with the current set up. Championship rugby doesn't bring in the income needed. Sport has moved on apace in the last 20 years since both teams were at the top of their game yet Bradford as a sporting city has gone backwards. Its one of the biggest cities in the country and 1st class sport should be part of the city's future going forward.

 

You say it's not insurmountable. But it's not long since we had to have remedial work done on our pitch and we know that there are major structural problems with the drainage. Two years ago the pitch was a disgrace just from football, without the heavy hammer that regular rugby league would give it.
If we were going to have games two or three times every week for half the season, and games through the summer when it would normally be rejuvenating, we would surely need the whole thing digging out deeply and replacing with completely new drainage. That would cost millions. Who would pay for that? The Bulls clearly can't afford to and it's highly unlikely that Mr Rupp will do so.

Any spare money we have must surely go to improving the first team to get us out of the khazi, not bailing out an ailing club (in a declining minority sport) that has only survived for years on public sector subsidy.
I can see why older Bradfordians with a sentimental attachment to the Bulls would want to help them out. But so few people want to watch them live these days that I can't see a viable reason for pumping much-needed City finances into the Bulls, who are always likely to be more of a financial drain than an asset.

 

You say so few people but i remember the days when the bulls averaged more than city, i've also supported City long enough to remember average crowds well below 10,000 was the norm, the last few seasons of pile it high sell it cheap season tickets the only time i really remember city having big crowds. If the bulls did get back into super league you'd be looking at an average around 9 to 10,000, the bulls also have a thriving junior scene that produces a fair number of international players, both current and past. The sad thing is now these players move to other clubs after being developed without ever turning out for a Bulls team in super league.

 

Yes, I remember regular City crowds of 6,7000 and bigger crowds for the Bulls in their heyday. But that's not where we are today. It would be a big gamble, requiring a lot of expense on the pitch, to bring the Bulls to VP. Chances of it benefitting us financially are slim and therefore an unjustified long shot from a City point of view IMHO.

 

The Bulls as it stands bring very little if anything to the table. A shame Rahic didn't fix the pitch like we all thought as that would have no bearing on the problem. Certainly not up to City to bail out an organisation run by the seat of its pants for years. The main problem the Bulls have is they need Super League for the sky money. And that ain't gonna come without a backer to get them there. I'll be honest, give it another 20 years down the line i'll be surprised if the bulls remain as a professional rugby entity, the successful period of the 90s/2000s was a pleasure to watch but success comes at a cost in any sport, you become a victim of your own success if you don't have a long term plan. City, although not to the extent of bulls, will also see problems 20 years down the line. An ageing stadium and a cheap season ticket policy will see problems of their own. But then i'll be old and decrepit then.

 

They shared the pitch 15-20 years ago. Were there any issues back then? Genuinely can't remember myself!

 

Didn’t they play at same time of year then so it had the close season to recover. Now it would be played on throughout the year

 

Was RL played through the summer back then? I can't remember but don't think so. Having no regeneration period during the close season seems a big issue to me.
Also, our pitch didn't seem to get in the same state back then as it has in recent years.

I can see why people who are fond of RL might want to help the Bulls out. But for someone like me who has never understood the attraction of RL, it just seems like an unnecessary risk that we can't afford to take, so soon after the calamitous Rahic era that we're struggling to recover from.

 

Yes, rugby was played February to October when they shared with us.

I'm not particularly fond of RL myself but lots of people in Bradford are or they certainly were. I remember the days when the Bulls were riding high. The marketing they had at the time was brilliant. Every other car you saw driving around Bradford was like a shrine to the Bulls with stickers in the rear window. At that time both clubs were 15000+ crowds with us in the Premiership then Championship and them in the Super League. I don't think it's unreasonable to aspire to that level for both clubs again. Maybe not Premiership for us but certainly a competitive Championship side. The public have shown that they will come and support if the product is good.

It seems they've gone with Dewsbury for now and who knows if one of the reasons for this is to force some serious thinking about the future. I think we need to be involved in that thinking with our lease now running down at VP. Let's not be slaves to the Gibb family pension fund. Let's take control of our own destiny. Hull, Huddersfield, Wigan seem to get by ok sharing a pitch. Why not us too?

Imagine for a second or two (and I know this is hard for downtrodden Bradford people to do) that we had an amazing, state of the art 25000 capacity all seater stadium alongside superb training facilities, a gym, artificial pitches, hotel, banqueting facilities, casino, restaurants etc. All this providing a great ground to play in, great training facilities, community facilities AND profit generating retail. It's a no brainer for me.

 

Like many City fans, I'd be very reluctant to see us leave VP.
But, assuming I could be persuaded otherwise, where would the megabucks for this grand scheme come from?

 

Very rare there was any grass on the pitch in those days so did not matter, Both codes played in a mud bath

 

Investors, the council could have a stake, philanthropists.

Where there's a will there's a way.

 

Oh right. Those same investors and philanthropists who've never been prepared to invest in Bradford City, despite the club's obvious potential. Or who've resolutely shunned the numerous 'Wembley of the North' proposals we've been promised over the years.
The council? You mean the one that's had its budget slashed in half by the government and is now struggling to run essential services on a badly frayed shoestring? The same council that has refused to put any money into the Odeon regeneration, despite its obvious economic benefits for the city, because it doesn't have a pot to piss in.
Isn't a big reason why the Bulls are in their current mess because the council is no longer prepared to bail them out? The council is on its uppers. Don't hold your breath waiting for them to pump millions into a grand sporting scheme with no guarantee of success.

 

You're giving up. It's a Bradford thing and you're not even from here, you've caught it! You're defeating the idea before it's started.

I linked earlier to a similar scheme that's gaining momentum for Peterborough. If they can do it why can't we?

I see what you're saying about the council, it's all cuts now. That said, they're investing in the City of Culture bid. They offered a loan to the Bulls to keep them at Odsal. If a long term plan can be shown to be a sound investment for the people of Bradford they have a duty to be involved. Doesn't have to be millions in cash it could be donations of land, easing planning etc.

 

Like every other stadium/land development comes from. Borrowed money. Like anything you do in life the bigger the rewards the bigger the gamble. I, like Hoochy, tend to try and look at the bigger picture 20/25 years down the line. And to be fair i'm still undecided as to what the best outcome would be. The way football is going these days i wouldn't be surprised if the lower league

Thats how most stadiums around the world are built now, partnerships between the local authorities and club owners, involvement from investment companies and lending organisations. A lot of discussion needs to take place but ultimately a sporting development cannot be funded on 23 games of football a year. It needs a lot of thinking outside the box and then the figures need to add up, even then its still a risk. But life is a risk, being steady eddie and not moving with the times more often than not leads to failure down the line.