THERE is so much optimism coming out of the Bradford Bulls as a club that their fans are dreaming of Super League.
And why not? It’s been almost a decade since the West Yorkshire outfit graced the top flight, but with the new board in place at the club, the ability to attract big rugby league names and the squad that Mark Dunning is creating, there has been a dramatic shift.
In such difficult economic times, chief executive Jason Hirst has revealed just how tough it has been to sell season tickets, but there will be more than double the amount of young children coming to Odsal in 2023 as there were in 2022.
‘It’s been tough, we’re no different to any other club. Every club has a challenge to sell season tickets not least because of the economic times we are going through,” Hirst told West Yorkshire Radio Rugby League.
“We need to attract a younger fan base. Bullmania of the late 1990s it was about attracting a new audience of families and children. We need to do that now slightly different with the same ethos and we need to make it more vibrant.
“In terms of adults, we are on course to match last season’s total. In an ideal world I would have like to have exceeded it but in the current economic climate I think it’s a good result.
The kids go free in 2023 initiative, we are almost double what we were last season. That’s not us giving tickets out, it’s children and parents that are signing up themselves. We will be well over double from last year by the time the season comes around.”
Hirst also had some great news on the Odsal front, with Bradford set to stay at the traditional ground for the foreseeable future with the hope of securing the levelling up funding to turn Odsal into a premier stadium.
“I’m delighted we will be playing at Odsal stadium in 2023 and beyond. We have reached an agreement with the RFL and we look forward to a successful season at Odsal.
“It depends on the levelling up bid beyond that, I can’t give a definite answer but it will be beyond 2023.
“In terms of the timeframe; the expectation we will find out at the end of January whether the bid has been successful.
“We are still in the running, some bids aren’t which is positive news. the whole process has been positive, a lot of people have done some great work behind the scenes promoting the bid and the city of Bradford.
“We remain optimistic but we are realistic as well, there are other people in the running but so are we.”
Hirst also spoke about how important getting the new facility will be for the club.
“We are in the 21st century, people have got a plethora of choices in terms of what they want to do on a Sunday afternoon or Friday evening. There are so many choices for the modern family and they are quite rightly selective about that.
“Bradford is deserving of a modern 21st century venue. When fans come to games it should be a non negotiable that they can sit in comfort. We don’t have modern facilities and that does hamper us.”
