Odsal Stadium

[Mr Plow]

Now Bradford are back will they make any improvements to Odsal? If Wakefield can build a new stand surely they can find some way of improving it?

[M j M]

1 minute ago, Mr Plow said:

Now Bradford are back will they make any improvements to Odsal? If Wakefield can build a new stand surely they can find some way of improving it?

Bradford council won't be tipping in much money so it'd be up to the Bulls to do it themselves - something that is rare (but to be fair not entirely unique) in British RL.

Wakefield spent the best part of £10m building that stand and associated developments. And, whilst Ellis has spent a lot subsequently, the funding for that stand - like almost every other major RL stadium development in this country - largely came from third party/council/enabling development support (Wakey's route to that cash was particularly convoluted).

 

[Fevrover]

1 hour ago, Mr Plow said:

Now Bradford are back will they make any improvements to Odsal? If Wakefield can build a new stand surely they can find some way of improving it?

A bomb ?

[The Future is League]

1 hour ago, Mr Plow said:

Now Bradford are back will they make any improvements to Odsal? If Wakefield can build a new stand surely they can find some way of improving it?

Don't hold your breathe on that one.

It's many years since any amount of money was spent on the stadium and it's just a case of Add Hoc with them.

There is a reason why they made a profit the last financial year, and you can guess how.

[Simon Hall]

Firstly, sort the pitch out, I’m not sure SL fans realise just how ridiculous it is. There’s going to be some really angry fans next season if they leave it like it has been for the last few years. Teams couldn’t play decent rugby on it due to how narrow it is and the corners in goal and the concrete barriers next to touch make it dangerous. 
 

The place needs about £10m spending on it to bring it up to date but even then it wouldn’t really scratch the surface of the place.
 

Now they’re getting all that SL money again, I’m sure they’ll spend some on doing the place up.

 

[Loiner]

2 hours ago, Mr Plow said:

Now Bradford are back will they make any improvements to Odsal? If Wakefield can build a new stand surely they can find some way of improving it?

I'm sure Kim Jong Un has a couple of spare bombs he doesn't want

[RigbyLuger]

Not ever club was lucky to have a supermarket needing to be built, but some have done more than others to unlock funding and do what they can. Including many outside Super League.

[SinBinSid]

Does anyone know how Bradford’s stadium score went up so much? It’s now 1.8992 out of 3, up from 0.7811 in 2024 - quite a jump of 1.1181.

[Just Browny]

44 minutes ago, Simon Hall said:

Firstly, sort the pitch out, I’m not sure SL fans realise just how ridiculous it is. There’s going to be some really angry fans next season if they leave it like it has been for the last few years. Teams couldn’t play decent rugby on it due to how narrow it is and the corners in goal and the concrete barriers next to touch make it dangerous. 
 

The place needs about £10m spending on it to bring it up to date but even then it wouldn’t really scratch the surface of the place.
 

Now they’re getting all that SL money again, I’m sure they’ll spend some on doing the place up.

 

Completely agree. There shouldn't really be IMG points available for having a regulation pitch, but there should certainly be a deduction for a playing surface that is below the minimum dimensions. It's embarrassing.

[Rene_Artois]

25 minutes ago, SinBinSid said:

Does anyone know how Bradford’s stadium score went up so much? It’s now 1.8992 out of 3, up from 0.7811 in 2024 - quite a jump of 1.1181.

Really good question. Must have a nice long gantry and a ultra hd big screen? Bare minimum I'd have thought.

[Pigeon Lofter]

1 hour ago, Simon Hall said:

The place needs about £10m spending on it to bring it up to date but even then it wouldn’t really scratch the surface of the place.
 

 

 

Nobody wants to scratch the surface.

It was a landfil for commercial, industrial and household debris. The mounds were made from shipped in garbage almost a hundred years ago. There's no record of what might be underneath, be it chemicals or even quarry waste, hence why there's been zero interest in any redevelopment.

The one thing the Bulls don't want to do is scratch the surface, because of what might then be revealed in those festering layers.

 

[Blind side johnny]

1 hour ago, Simon Hall said:

Firstly, sort the pitch out, I’m not sure SL fans realise just how ridiculous it is. There’s going to be some really angry fans next season if they leave it like it has been for the last few years. Teams couldn’t play decent rugby on it due to how narrow it is and the corners in goal and the concrete barriers next to touch make it dangerous. 
 

Given the recent death of a footballer caused by a collision with concrete alongside the pitch this should be a real matter of urgency, I would have thought.

[The 4 of Us]

1 hour ago, Simon Hall said:

Now they’re getting all that SL money again, I’m sure they’ll spend some on doing the place up.

 

They’ll have barely enough for players wages.

There needs to be a serious discussion with the LA about selling/developing the land with a view to building a ground for them and BPA across the road. Listed building or not.

[Blind side johnny]

2 minutes ago, The 4 of Us said:

They’ll have barely enough for players wages.

There needs to be a serious discussion with the LA about selling/developing the land with a view to building a ground for them and BPA across the road. Listed building or not.

I wonder why this hasn't been discussed on these forums previously?

[Phil]

15 minutes ago, Blind side johnny said:

I wonder why this hasn't been discussed on these forums previously?

[Yorky]

I'm in the only one who's looking forward to an away day at a genuine historic RL ground. Not modern but unique

[Simon Hall]

2 minutes ago, Yorky said:

I'm in the only one who's looking forward to an away day at a genuine historic RL ground. Not modern but unique

Probably aye. 

[Barley Mow]

21 minutes ago, Yorky said:

I'm in the only one who's looking forward to an away day at a genuine historic RL ground. Not modern but unique

I've always enjoy watching rugby at Odsal.

My only real complaints are the red muck that coats the lower terraces from the stock car track and the size of the field which doesn't make for great games - for me they just need to solve the issues that the stock cars create.

Of course it isn't a modern stadium, but to me that adds to it's attraction. 

[GeordieSaint]

3 hours ago, Fevrover said:

A bomb ?

Another one?

[GeordieSaint]

Odsal is disgraceful as a top tier sporting venue. 

What’s issue with sharing Valley Parade like in the past? Surely that’s the solution…

[Spidey]

Is it a Yorkshire thing that people just accept sub standard facilities when watching sport?

[Just Browny]

37 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

Odsal is disgraceful as a top tier sporting venue. 

What’s issue with sharing Valley Parade like in the past? Surely that’s the solution…

That is also a ###### stadium.

[gingerjon]

1 hour ago, Blind side johnny said:

Given the recent death of a footballer caused by a collision with concrete alongside the pitch this should be a real matter of urgency, I would have thought.

Spot on.

I don't know Odsal well enough to comment but if they are 'close' then that could be a major issue very soon as there does, at last, seem to be genuine moves to remove solid concrete/brick walls from alongside pitches. Just a shame that Billy Vigar had to die for anyone to notice the problem.

[TrueBull]

1 hour ago, Yorky said:

I'm in the only one who's looking forward to an away day at a genuine historic RL ground. Not modern but unique

Tbh, The weaknesses with the fan experience are minimised with a Friday night game in the summer. It’s warm, dry, clean(stock cars happen on a Saturday) , sun on the horizon is cool at Odsal, plenty of beer and with a good crowd, the acoustics are good. That’s the sort of day you can look forwards to. 
 

But, in the torrential rain or cold or fog, the lack of cover on the terracing can make it unpleasant. So hopefully we can have York visiting in Feb…..

 

[M j M]

57 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

Odsal is disgraceful as a top tier sporting venue. 

What’s issue with sharing Valley Parade like in the past? Surely that’s the solution…

Do you not remember what a disaster it was last time they went there? (And there were a lot of complaints about how small its pitch was )

But even putting that to one side I doubt City would want them and I imagine it would be financially unviable for the Bulls to play there.

What they need is the ownership group, who from what I can tell have a bit of money behind them albeit not hundreds of millions, to see if they can invest or find investment to at least tidy Odsal up a bit. 

Improving and sticking a roof on the terrace side should be the number one priority  - costly but it should have been done years ago. Just between that, the seated stand and the southern hospitality end you would have a serviceable Super League stadium even if the rest was left out of use.