Bulls look to secure Odsal future

The board of rugby league club Bradford Bulls has submitted an offer to reacquire the leasehold of the venue it describes as its “spiritual home”.

Knight Frank was appointed last October by the Rugby Football League to find a buyer for the lease. The site’s freehold is held by Bradford Council.

The RFL had taken on the 150-year leasehold in 2012 when the club went into receivership and no other interested party could be found to take it on.

As well as the rugby league club, the venue is home to Odsal Motorsports.

A statement posted on the second-tier club’s website said: “The Board of Bradford Bulls, after very careful consideration, have submitted an offer to reacquire the leasehold interest in Odsal. We understand that the club’s offer to secure our home at Odsal Stadium will be discussed at the RFL Council on 24 July 2024.

“We are advised that the RFL Board will present our offer as the preferred bid to the members and they will listen to their views before finalising their decision.”

Following a golden period across the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Bulls have undergone a torrid time, with its most recent reincarnation coming in 2017.

Since that time, the club had temporarily relocated to Dewsbury before returning to Odsal in 2021. The current ownership has been at the helm since 2019.

Club chief executive Jason Hirst said: “It is well documented that the running costs of Odsal are very, very substantial so once the RFL decided to sell the lease we had to think hard about whether we could afford to take it on.

“The club’s board concluded that Odsal was our spiritual home and we should do all we can to bring the stadium back into the ownership of the club, to protect rugby league in the city.”