WHATS GOING ON AT ODSAL

[paul hicks]

On 06/08/2019 at 10:47, paulwalker71 said:

Yes, the Main Stand holds 5000, so perfectly sufficient for most purposes.

But then I sit in the stand anyway - there are a lot of people who prefer to stand on the terraces (and get soaking wet) than sit down under cover. I don't quite know why - but it's a thing in both rugby and football isn't it? Lots of people prefer to stand up to watch their sport!

but if you have the one stand only open what price do you charge . is it the price for seating or if people say I'm going to stand all match do you charge them terrace prices and have security walking round to make sure they don't sit down

[Bulliac]

On 06/08/2019 at 11:01, AB Knight said:

I think it’s a case of weighing things up: stay at Odsal for the short term and have to sit, or move to BPA/Dewsbury/elsewhere and be able to stand.

Not sure how things work with maintaining buildings and whether the council would allow the Bulls to open just the main stand while the rest of the ground is left as it is but it’s surely something to consider. 

Despite York’s recent rivalry with Bradford it would be a shame to see them leave Odsal. I visited Valley Parade 2/3 times with Castleford and hated each visit. 

Avenue's ground at Horsfall has a capacity of around 2k, so far as I know. Avenue average somewhere around 500  and even for their own aspirations it isn't big enough long term and would definitely need some money spending on it before next season if we were to be playing there as we currently have around 3k season ticket holders this season.

I don't know why but, in my water, I feel we'll still be at Odsal next season. I think chiefly because the alternatives are either; outside the city (Dewsbury) the majority wouldn't travel imo, more expensive than Odsal (Valley Parade) again not popular with the fans or just not really feasible (Horsfall).

 

[LeeF]

47 minutes ago, Bulliac said:

Avenue's ground at Horsfall has a capacity of around 2k, so far as I know. Avenue average somewhere around 500  and even for their own aspirations it isn't big enough long term and would definitely need some money spending on it before next season if we were to be playing there as we currently have around 3k season ticket holders this season.

I don't know why but, in my water, I feel we'll still be at Odsal next season. I think chiefly because the alternatives are either; outside the city (Dewsbury) the majority wouldn't travel imo, more expensive than Odsal (Valley Parade) again not popular with the fans or just not really feasible (Horsfall).

 

What's the capacity at Dewsbury?

[Mumby Magic]

21 minutes ago, LeeF said:

What's the capacity at Dewsbury?

Crowds dropped by 2000+ when we were top of the tree and moved to VP for a bit. Can't see more than 1500 bulls fans going to Dewsbury. I personally think Chalmers is playing a game of dare. I still think we'll be at Odsal next year.

[Blind side johnny]

1 hour ago, LeeF said:

What's the capacity at Dewsbury?

Currently 4900 but with a small amount of expenditure that could rise to 7500.

[Bulliac]

An interesting nugget from another board has pointed out that, whilst saying they are prepared hand in the keys to Odsal in September, the Bulls are still advertising Xmas meals in the South Bank at the ground. Mmmm!

[paulwalker71]

16 hours ago, Mumby Magic said:

Crowds dropped by 2000+ when we were top of the tree and moved to VP for a bit. Can't see more than 1500 bulls fans going to Dewsbury. I personally think Chalmers is playing a game of dare. I still think we'll be at Odsal next year.

I'm inclined to agree - if only because the lack of a suitable alternative.

The problem with that is that it just kicks the can down the road for a year. Odsal will continue to crumble, and we'll still need some sort of longer term solution.

[Konkrete]

17 hours ago, Blind side johnny said:

Currently 4900 but with a small amount of expenditure that could rise to 7500.

What's the view from the other side?  What do Dewsbury fans think of this proposal of the Bulls playing out of their ground?  I know that Wakefield was mooted a while ago, but a lot of people have an unfathomable soft spot for Trin.  We're a whole different ball game.

[Blind side johnny]

13 minutes ago, Konkrete said:

What's the view from the other side?  What do Dewsbury fans think of this proposal of the Bulls playing out of their ground?  I know that Wakefield was mooted a while ago, but a lot of people have an unfathomable soft spot for Trin.  We're a whole different ball game.

I can't speak for the others but I am ambivalent, leaning towards anti. My club could benefit from the income but we are often cited by other "bigger" clubs as an option for relocation when they are trying to play hardball with their respective councils. We wouldn't welcome nything that caused our ground to lose any of its identity nor be subsumed into anothers. So, overall I guess, the mood could be summarised as cynically suspicious.

[paulwalker71]

http://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/article/53203/bradford-bulls--a-new-dawn-awaits

Look like it's going to be Dewsbury then (sorry BSJ ) 

[Rupert Prince]

20 hours ago, Bulliac said:

Avenue's ground at Horsfall has a capacity of around 2k, so far as I know. Avenue average somewhere around 500  and even for their own aspirations it isn't big enough long term and would definitely need some money spending on it before next season if we were to be playing there as we currently have around 3k season ticket holders this season.

I don't know why but, in my water, I feel we'll still be at Odsal next season. I think chiefly because the alternatives are either; outside the city (Dewsbury) the majority wouldn't travel imo, more expensive than Odsal (Valley Parade) again not popular with the fans or just not really feasible (Horsfall).

 

But all these option that he says are temporary... 2 to 4 years.  Where is the permanent home going to be? 

[Oliver Clothesoff]

Couldn’t finish that article, it was so poor in so many ways. Chalmers has never had any media training, has he? 

I don’t know much about this situation but surely moving Bradford out of the city is going to do some considerable harm to the club’s future? A generation or maybe more may well be lost from this move and some fans may just not bother/be able to travel to Dewsbury (if it is there). 

[Lounge Room Lizard]

30 minutes ago, paulwalker71 said:

http://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/article/53203/bradford-bulls--a-new-dawn-awaits

Look like it's going to be Dewsbury then (sorry BSJ ) 

He has ruled out Odsal and Valley Parade and says Horsfall is also much a short term solution if at all-much like Dewsbury. Long term then where do Bradford Bulls intend to play? I can see the Bulls losing a fair bit of support IF they go to Dewsbury for a couple of years if not more. What exactly are the plans for the Bulls if Odsal/VP/Horsfall are not long term plans? Do the Bulls intend to build a stadium?

He waffles on a lot in that article! He rules out basically all options in Bradford but then talkks about the Bulls looking long term to play in Bradford. What is the long term plan for the Bulls and how will they achieve this?  I think he is going OTT with "Bradford Bulls" are an Iconic Global Brand. They are a Championship Club that is miles away from being ready to be a SL Club that face many issues like all Rugby League Clubs. Ask most people south of Sheffield and they would probably say they have no idea what or who Bradford Bulls are or even what sport they play.

It was clear to everybody that playing out of Odsal would be a millstone. Did they not do the figures when they wanted to take over the running of Bradford? Did he and his management not agree to the terms with the RFL & Council? It seems once again he is moaning and groaning over things which he and his management team should have known about and yet accepted the terms when they took over the Bulls. 

[paul hicks]

51 minutes ago, paulwalker71 said:

http://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/article/53203/bradford-bulls--a-new-dawn-awaits

Look like it's going to be Dewsbury then (sorry BSJ ) 

he lost me at no deal- Brexit and fake news .  a big club that got less than 3,500 for the attraction of top of the league Toronto even with 200 away fans .  seems to me he is responsible for faking it more than anyone

[paul hicks]

19 hours ago, Blind side johnny said:

Currently 4900 but with a small amount of expenditure that could rise to 7500.

Bradford v Toronto 3,421 with 200 supporting Toronto . I guess Dewsbury would be plenty big enough

[paul hicks]

33 minutes ago, Rupert Prince said:

But all these option that he says are temporary... 2 to 4 years.  Where is the permanent home going to be? 

new york

[Blind side johnny]

1 hour ago, paulwalker71 said:

http://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/article/53203/bradford-bulls--a-new-dawn-awaits

Look like it's going to be Dewsbury then (sorry BSJ ) 

Do you think so? To me it still reads as a part of a negotiation.

BTW he was talking to Dewsbury about this very thing three months ago - he hasn't just thought it up. In other words I suspect that it is all  a part of AC's cunning plan to get a better deal at Odsal. The eventual compromise will be nothing as grand as his initial demands.

[paulwalker71]

44 minutes ago, Lounge Room Lizard said:

It was clear to everybody that playing out of Odsal would be a millstone. Did they not do the figures when they wanted to take over the running of Bradford? Did he and his management not agree to the terms with the RFL & Council? It seems once again he is moaning and groaning over things which he and his management team should have known about and yet accepted the terms when they took over the Bulls. 

Just some of the many unanswered questions about Andrew Chalmers ending up with the ownership of the club.

Most of us were left scratching our heads at the time about what really was the agenda. I mean, why would a guy fly half way around the world to take over a club, just to have to pour money down a black hole, with zero hope of ever getting it back..... unless there was some sort of hidden agenda involving the stadium / land.

But it doesn't really seem like we are any nearer getting any answers to those kinds of questions!

[Blind side johnny]

47 minutes ago, Lounge Room Lizard said:

He has ruled out Odsal and Valley Parade and says Horsfall is also much a short term solution if at all-much like Dewsbury. Long term then where do Bradford Bulls intend to play? I can see the Bulls losing a fair bit of support IF they go to Dewsbury for a couple of years if not more. What exactly are the plans for the Bulls if Odsal/VP/Horsfall are not long term plans? Do the Bulls intend to build a stadium?

He waffles on a lot in that article! He rules out basically all options in Bradford but then talkks about the Bulls looking long term to play in Bradford. What is the long term plan for the Bulls and how will they achieve this?  I think he is going OTT with "Bradford Bulls" are an Iconic Global Brand. They are a Championship Club that is miles away from being ready to be a SL Club that face many issues like all Rugby League Clubs. Ask most people south of Sheffield and they would probably say they have no idea what or who Bradford Bulls are or even what sport they play.

It was clear to everybody that playing out of Odsal would be a millstone. Did they not do the figures when they wanted to take over the running of Bradford? Did he and his management not agree to the terms with the RFL & Council? It seems once again he is moaning and groaning over things which he and his management team should have known about and yet accepted the terms when they took over the Bulls. 

Point of order!

He did not "take over the running" of Bradford. He formed an entirely new business that included none of the assets or liabilities of Bradford and applied to the RFL for a licence to run a semi-professional club based in Bradford. Subsequently he managed, with RFL collusion, to buy the Bradfod Bulls name. That is all, so far as anyone has been able to find out.

[paulwalker71]

1 minute ago, Blind side johnny said:

BTW he was talking to Dewsbury about this very thing three months ago - he hasn't just thought it up. In other words I suspect that it is all  a part of AC's cunning plan to get a better deal at Odsal. The eventual compromise will be nothing as grand as his initial demands.

The trouble is that 'getting a better deal at Odsal' isn't a long term plan.

Without a proper long-term plan for the stadium all that does is 'kick the can down the road'. In another year or two, we are going to be back here again - a crumbling stadium owned and leased by organisations with no money, yet needing massive investment.

For that reason alone, I think this could be a bit more serious that Michael Carter-style posturing to get a better deal with the local Council.

[Blind side johnny]

1 minute ago, paulwalker71 said:

The trouble is that 'getting a better deal at Odsal' isn't a long term plan.

Without a proper long-term plan for the stadium all that does is 'kick the can down the road'. In another year or two, we are going to be back here again - a crumbling stadium owned and leased by organisations with no money, yet needing massive investment.

For that reason alone, I think this could be a bit more serious that Michael Carter-style posturing to get a better deal with the local Council.

Do you firmly believe that AC actually has a "long-term plan" as distinct from an exit strategy?

[paul hicks]

43 minutes ago, paulwalker71 said:

Just some of the many unanswered questions about Andrew Chalmers ending up with the ownership of the club.

Most of us were left scratching our heads at the time about what really was the agenda. I mean, why would a guy fly half way around the world to take over a club, just to have to pour money down a black hole, with zero hope of ever getting it back..... unless there was some sort of hidden agenda involving the stadium / land.

But it doesn't really seem like we are any nearer getting any answers to those kinds of questions!

was he not working at Salford when he came up with the idea of starting a new club in Bradford so not such a long flight . I thought he was part of the good doctors team at Salford and before that in charge of the new Zealand rugby league but left under a cloud when a budget blowout was uncovered 

[Bulliac]

1 hour ago, Blind side johnny said:

Do you firmly believe that AC actually has a "long-term plan" as distinct from an exit strategy?

Sounds more like a 'holding strategy', to be honest. Not sure why he would need an exit strategy, like all our recent owners since the initial financial disaster, he appeared on the scene, having been recruited by the RFL (with what promises? who knows?) so, by the same token, who knows what long, short or medium term plan (or whose it is) is going to be in place.

Not me for sure.

[Blind side johnny]

18 hours ago, Bulliac said:

Sounds more like a 'holding strategy', to be honest. Not sure why he would need an exit strategy, like all our recent owners since the initial financial disaster, he appeared on the scene, having been recruited by the RFL (with what promises? who knows?) so, by the same token, who knows what long, short or medium term plan (or whose it is) is going to be in place.

Not me for sure.

"Recruited by the RFL" is carrying paranoia, even for a Bulls fan, to something of an extreme.

[Bulliac]

1 hour ago, Blind side johnny said:

"Recruited by the RFL" is carrying paranoia, even for a Bulls fan, to something of an extreme.

Don't really think so Johnny.

The RFL have been very 'hands on' in bringing in their preferred candidate and recommending them as 'fit and proper', people who turn out to be neither fit nor proper. If we were ever to go bust again I pray that we'll get no more 'help' from the RFL.