Quote: Bullseye "I'm struggling to see why the RFL took the lease. I would suggest it's incompetence on the part of the RFL to try and cover up/plug a financial hole for the loans they had advanced the club prior to 2012. All they've got is a financial millstone. If it had investment potential it would've been realised yonks ago. The RFL turning down investors to give the club to Chalmers suggests they wanted "their man" running things for some as yet unknown reason.
Well Nigel is in charge now - everyone knows this even if it's not officially confirmed. What are his plans for Odsal? Has he got any? I worry that he hasn't and all we have is a ruin of a ground that is getting worse. While Wood remains in the background we supporters are expected to just back the team and not ask any awkward questions - even if we did we wouldn't get any answers. The RL media won't rock the boat - too many vested interests.
I fear it will all end in tears - probably once the TV money runs out next year.'"
At the time I thought the RFL had a cunning plan for the lease which involved redeveloping the site, having a primary tenant (Bulls) being big enough for CC Semifinals & internationals (money stays within RFL rather than going to a stadium management company), moving Red Hall to the site (central, M62 access saves on rent) and moving the RL museum to the site.
As time has gone by, it is obvious it was just short term, emergency action to gain an asset for their unsecured loans which has caused more trouble for the RFL and the wider game because no-one actually had time to think about it. They just wanted to cover their backsides for when the likes of Lenaghan and Moran started asking questions about the loans. Because of Odsal & the RFL - it's caused governance issues with Sport England (who give £millions annually to RL), it's caused conflict of interest with how they related to other clubs and it's messed up the administrators attempts to gain value for creditors and stable owners for the Bulls.