“The Bulls will never return to Odsal” – Chalmers

BRADFORD BULLS Chairman ANDREW CHALMERS answers questions from League Express about the move to Dewsbury and the future of the club.

LE: In taking your club out of the city of Bradford, how do you anticipate it will affect your attendances and season ticket sales?
AC: Leaving the City of Bradford is a disappointment. But staying would have far worse consequences for the club. We spent considerable time and resource considering the ramifications of moving from Odsal and indeed if we were forced to leave the city. We have modelled a reduction in ticket revenues for being based at Tetley Stadium, Dewsbury, for the next two seasons. It’s a combination of our lower season tickets and match day prices, and a modest reduction in attendances. It’s prudent to allow for this, but we will work hard to implement strong fan engagement strategies to continue to build support for the Bradford Bulls. We will also include subsidised bus transport options from Odsal Stadium to Tetley Stadium on match days to assist our Bulls fans to enjoy supporting their team.

LE: What budgets have you put in place for next year’s playing squad in comparison to this year?
AC: Our initial player spend will depend on the RFL approving our budgets for 2020. These budgets have been submitted, but we expect our first team player spend to be roughly equal with our spend in 2019. Any additional surplus funds will be spent on player recruitment and player development. In addition we will operate our Reserves, Academy U18 and U16 sides as well as our Women’s team as part of our obligations for operating a Tier 1 High Performance Academy from our base at Tong High School based in Bradford. Ultimately this transition will enable the club to spend significantly more on players, rather than on an expensive iconic legacy stadium, at the end of its economic life. A stadium owned by others.

To read the full-page feature in League Express, click here