BRADFORD BULLS will have a free hand to refurbish its iconic Odsal home after reaching agreement with the company promoting stock-car racing at the stadium that it would be discontinued immediately.
“Bradford Bulls can announce that Odsal Motor Sports will no longer be racing at Bartercard Odsal Stadium, after both parties agreed to immediately bring to an end the previous lease agreement,” said a brief statement issued by the club.
“The club wishes Odsal Motor Sports all the best moving forward.”
The cessation of stock-car racing is the latest development in the recent history of the stadium and the Bulls’ mission to restore its faded glory, which included the club moving away from Odsal for 18 months seven years ago.
On 1 September 2019, the club played its last game at Odsal until its return in May 2021, having played matches at Dewsbury’s FLAIR Stadium during that period.
At the time, the head lease at Odsal was owned by the RFL, which had bought it from the club in 2012.
In late 2020 the RFL agreed a twelve-year lease with promoter Steve Rees, who had staged stock car and banger racing via his Startrax (now renamed Yorstox) organisation for more than 25 years.
The track that surrounded the rugby pitch had previously staged motorcycling and stock car events until 1997.
Rees spent a considerable sum preparing the stadium for stock-car racing.
“After all the refurbishment and landscaping, we will have spent £250,000. The RFL have also put money in and by the time we open it will have cost half a million,” he said at that time.
But it did mean that the rugby pitch was narrowed significantly.
The first event took place on on 31 May 2021 and regular monthly events were held from then onwards.
The stadium hosted the BriSCA F1 World Championship, the World of Shale Final, and the 1300cc Saloons World of Shale Final.
The Bulls’ then acting chief executive Mark Sawyer emphasised the benefits stock-car racing would bring to the club.
“Staging motorsport events is the first piece in the jigsaw puzzle towards how we’re going to balance the books at Odsal,” he said.
However, League Express understands that one of the clauses in the lease agreement was that if the Bulls were promoted back to Super League, then the stock-car racing lease could be terminated.
The Bulls will now revert to being the sole occupiers of the stadium and they will be able to widen the pitch in time for next season while seeking the funding for a large scale refurbishment of the venue.