WHATS GOING ON AT ODSAL

[John Drake]

10 minutes ago, paul hicks said:

seems he has now given sept 30th as a date . to be honest I stopped reading when he got on his hobby horse and started mentioning Boris.

tell you what go to Berne and mention west Yorkshire to a businessman and he will say where? then say Leeds and he will say ah yes Leeds  and quite possibly mention he has been there. that's why you need a name people know 

I'd say to him, 'where's Berne? Is it near Geneva?'

[DoubleD]

1 minute ago, Mr Plow said:

Makes a good point about education and sport. There has been a lot of money spent in Bradford on the Odeon/ Bradford Live and George’s Hall. Perhaps money could be spent on a sport/ education centre that Bulls and Park Avenue can play at. After all we keep being told about the child obesity epidemic, maybe a sports education centre is the way forward 

Yeah in fairness Scotchy certainly has a point on this occasion. A model along the lines of Leigh Sports Village is something that Bradford Council should look at in my opinion. It serves many purposes and services many requirements. 

And funnily enough Leigh is not Leeds either 

[Mr Plow]

5 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

Yeah in fairness Scotchy certainly has a point on this occasion. A model along the lines of Leigh Sports Village is something that Bradford Council should look at in my opinion. It serves many purposes and services many requirements. 

And funnily enough Leigh is not Leeds either 

Yeah i agree something like Leigh Sports Village would be right for Bradford. Somewhere Bull and PA can play, college campus, community hubs, conference facilities, retail instils ect

[paul hicks]

16 minutes ago, John Drake said:

I'd say to him, 'where's Berne? Is it near Geneva?'

if you were a businessman you would not need to ask you would know . 

now remind me were is Bradford 

[Ackroman]

32 minutes ago, paul hicks said:

seems he has now given sept 30th as a date . to be honest I stopped reading when he got on his hobby horse and started mentioning Boris.

tell you what go to Berne and mention west Yorkshire to a businessman and he will say where? then say Leeds and he will say ah yes Leeds  and quite possibly mention he has been there. that's why you need a name people know 

Greater Manchester. Its got a ring to it everyone loves.

[John Drake]

3 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

Yeah i agree something like Leigh Sports Village would be right for Bradford. Somewhere Bull and PA can play, college campus, community hubs, conference facilities, retail instils ect

Would you have Keighley playing there too, or would you spend an equivalent amount of money refurbishing Cougar Park?

That's a question the Leader of Bradford Council would have to address.

It's easy to propose all sorts of amazing schemes on an internet message board, that will never happen in real life, particularly in Bradford. We're non strangers to being served pie n the sky here.

[paul hicks]

Just now, Ackroman said:

Greater Manchester. Its got a ring to it everyone loves.

well everyone knows at least and I recon its helped the city of Salford to bring in business such as media city 

[paul hicks]

1 minute ago, John Drake said:

Would you have Keighley playing there too, or would you spend an equivalent amount of money refurbishing Cougar Park?

That's a question the Leader of Bradford Council would have to address.

It's easy to propose all sorts of amazing schemes on an internet message board, that will never happen in real life, particularly in Bradford. We're non strangers to being served pie n the sky here.

now as you mention Keighley is that a possible relocation for the bulls . same city after all 

[John Drake]

1 minute ago, paul hicks said:

now as you mention Keighley is that a possible relocation for the bulls . same city after all 

It's no more ridiculous than anything else that's been proposed in this thread by people who don't live in Bradford or know anything about the place.

[Mr Plow]

7 minutes ago, John Drake said:

Would you have Keighley playing there too, or would you spend an equivalent amount of money refurbishing Cougar Park?

That's a question the Leader of Bradford Council would have to address.

It's easy to propose all sorts of amazing schemes on an internet message board, that will never happen in real life, particularly in Bradford. We're non strangers to being served pie n the sky here.

Well if it’s a Bradford Council facility then yeah I suppose you would. My question would be do Keighley have a future post 2021 but that can be debated in a different thread.

But a facility like LSV or Leeds’ John Charles Centre could be used by the whole Bradford region. You could get City on board by letting them train there instead of Woodhouse Grove School

[paul hicks]

7 minutes ago, John Drake said:

It's no more ridiculous than anything else that's been proposed in this thread by people who don't live in Bradford or know anything about the place.

oh I know there's a big distance I have friends I visit often in both Bradford and Keighley. Lets face it a bit like trying to get Featherstone, Wakefield and Castleford into one stadium but is the priority to have somewhere to play or to spend money that nobody seems to have.

by the way john I thought I read somewhere that the  RFL has some kind of lease or ownership of cougar park don't know if its true but it could actually be a factor that would appeal to the RFL and the council if there was a ground share

[John Drake]

4 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

Well if it’s a Bradford Council facility then yeah I suppose you would. My question would be do Keighley have a future post 2021 but that can be debated in a different thread.

But a facility like LSV or Leeds’ John Charles Centre could be used by the whole Bradford region. You could get City on board by letting them train there instead of Woodhouse Grove School

Suggesting Keighley could share a stadium with Bradford Bulls and Bradford Park Avenue in South Bradford is just bonkers.

You may as well ask why Leigh didn't just go and play at Wigan.

[John Drake]

4 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

If my club doesnt get anything, you shouldn't get anything.

The rugby league family. With friends like these...

It's the reality you refuse to engage with.

[paul hicks]

5 minutes ago, John Drake said:

Suggesting Keighley could share a stadium with Bradford Bulls and Bradford Park Avenue in South Bradford is just bonkers.

You may as well ask why Leigh didn't just go and play at Wigan.

what anymore bonkers than chambers saying they could be playing at Dewsbury next season a ground not even in the same city. by the way I never mentioned park avenue which I think is smaller than cougar park in terms of room for spectators .

as for why did leigh not go play at Wigan well I think the answer is simple . because the council were willing to pay for the leigh ground and there we again come round to the subject of money which seems to be of more concern than playing a game of rugby league 

[paul hicks]

here is a straight question .

would you rather have the bulls play at a ground other than odsal or not play at all 

[Konkrete]

Couple of points to make...

The upward trajectory of Leeds as a city can be traced back to the early 1980s when they were awarded an opportunity to be an Enterprise Zone (ie low taxation for companies within the zone).  That provided the catalyst for the growth which has seen Leeds develop into the superb city that it is today.  Bradford didn't have that opportunity.

The cost of commercial borrowing has been next to nothing for about 15yrs.  Interest rates for Government borrowing are even lower.  Councils borrowing to invest in infrastructure or civic projects that are projected to benefit the area culturally together with a long term financial benefit should be encouraged.

Bradford council is swamped with social and environmental problems growing at an ever accelerating rate, and in the face of swingeing cuts to the central government grant and low business income.  Investment in somewhere like Odsal, before anyone talks about money, would start with a long term vision for public health, civic benefit, and business growth in South Bradford.  And that's your problem right there.  Because the short term reality is that playing fields have disappeared, Richard Dunn has shut, and now Odsal is about to close.  But never mind, because the world's biggest KFC has just been built on the old police station site!

[Mr Plow]

19 minutes ago, John Drake said:

Suggesting Keighley could share a stadium with Bradford Bulls and Bradford Park Avenue in South Bradford is just bonkers.

You may as well ask why Leigh didn't just go and play at Wigan.

Sorry I misunderstood, I wasn’t suggesting it could be built at Odsal.

[John Drake]

3 minutes ago, paul hicks said:

what anymore bonkers than chambers saying they could be playing at Dewsbury next season a ground not even in the same city. by the way I never mentioned park avenue which I think is smaller than cougar park in terms of room for spectators .

as for why did leigh not go play at Wigan well I think the answer is simple . because the council were willing to pay for the leigh ground and there we again come round to the subject of money which seems to be of more concern than playing a game of rugby league 

As a Bradfordian, born and bred, all I am trying to achieve here is to get people to engage with reality when proposing what should happen with regard to the future of Bradford Bulls and Odsal Stadium. Otherwise, you'll be doomed to disappointment.

Forget the grand schemes, we've heard 'em all before. Forget spending large sums of public money. It doesn't exist.

[John Drake]

1 minute ago, scotchy1 said:

If you choose to believe most RL fans are that bitter, parochial and self destructive then that's your choice.

I think most RL fans are better than that and the bitter, parochial and self destructive minority that would cut off their nose to spite their face can be ignored. The only people who lose out by listening that minority of RL fans are RL fans. 

When both Bradford Bulls and keighley cougars are dead and buried it might sink in that some people were fighting a friend, not an enemy. Let's hope it doesn't take such an event to defeat the cancers of defeatist and parochialism that is so damaging to the game

This is irrelevant.

Public investment is a matter of politics.

Just ask anyone in Workington.

[Mr Plow]

16 minutes ago, John Drake said:

As a Bradfordian, born and bred, all I am trying to achieve here is to get people to engage with reality when proposing what should happen with regard to the future of Bradford Bulls and Odsal Stadium. Otherwise, you'll be doomed to disappointment.

Forget the grand schemes, we've heard 'em all before. Forget spending large sums of public money. It doesn't exist.

Tbf Bradford should have been part the Olympic Legacy which never happened, I believe the city would have benefited from an OL Park more than the city of Sheffield have.

What do you see as the future of Odsal and the Bulls then?

[paul hicks]

11 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

Tbf Bradford should have been part the Olympic Legacy which never happened, I believe the city would have benefited from an OL Park more than the city of Sheffield have.

What do you see as the future of Odsal and the Bulls then?

for me chambers should take the bull by the horns so to speak and drag them to another ground and then its a fresh start for all concerned the bulls, RFL and the council. 

he says he has plans so put them into practice and move then the costs he complains about will not be there so they can regroup with no excuses or indeed cost problems .

for the rfl and the council well both would benefit because with no spots club to get in the way the site could be designated for commercial or housing use and could be sold at a bigger profit than either ground rental or long lease with a large lump some payment

[John Drake]

12 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

What do you see as the future of Odsal and the Bulls then?

Honest answer?

I don't know.

I hope the Bulls remain solvent as a club, and I hope they remain playing in Bradford, regardless of where that was.

[Wolford6]

8 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

Yeah in fairness Scotchy certainly has a point on this occasion. A model along the lines of Leigh Sports Village is something that Bradford Council should look at in my opinion. It serves many purposes and services many requirements. 

And funnily enough Leigh is not Leeds either 

1.The bloke who drove the Leigh Sporting Village scheme forward, plus the Cardiff Ice Rink, is an associate of mine. He lives in Bradford.

2. Recently,  the Bradford Telegraph and Argus  published an e-article about a council proposal to knock down the perfectly-sound former M&S department store. It had been compulsorily purchased with the stated intention of re-housing the large perfectly-sound Oastler Market that was to be demolished for housing. I posted this  uncomfortable fact, whereupon the T&A  deleted my comment. I presume that situation has also applied to other people's comments on similar issues.

I think that gives a reasonable appraisal of Bradford Council's attitude to residents who are off-message.

[paul hicks]

I think people need to realise that the leigh sports village was opened in 2008 so that's before the banks collapse and the conservative government and austerity. so every reason that in these times of austerity which despite what the government may say is still a fact that a council would not be able to commit to a large project like that now unless they were able to find good funding or lending schemes which Bradford has not been very good at in the past.

end of the day its down to money 

[Angelic Cynic]

2 hours ago, scotchy1 said:

If it is just politics then the right people can play the game and get what RL needs. 

Just ask anyone in york, or leeds, or Hull  or Leigh etc etc etc etc

  The clubs you mention struck lucky - for a number of different reasons.

  Wakefield and their council - Sheffield and their council are a different story.

  Neighbouring cities have different outcomes.Manchester,certainly post-IRAbomb,received/receives more than Salford.

  As described above,Leeds receive more money,and publicity than Bradford.

  Newcastle has had more spent on it,for the past few decades than Sunderland.

   Cardiff gets more than Swansea.

  New sports stadia,nowadays,ain't gonna be easy - even if the council are onside.