Remind me of the reasons for a 12 team SL again? A smaller playing pool for the England coach to choose from?

I used to think the champ teams would have no hope of gaining promotion through the proposed playoff system, but having watched Leigh in the cup game against Rhinos the other week I'm not so sure any more.
I reckon they would have beaten us and Wakey comfortably that night, so there's no reason why they can't replicate that kind of performance in a promotion dogfight.

Whatever happens next year we will be getting a significant increase in central funding. If we can keep a support base of around 2k and convince Provident to remain as sponsor then we should be spending up to the championship cap without too much of a problem.
It will take some careful management of figures and salaries, but if done right we can remain full time next year imo. Top four in SL2 should be a realistic target.

One of the first things we should be doing is convincing Leon to come home, he would go great in SL2.

I'm sure we're preparing buts there's only so far we can go until we know for sure which league were in. We can only provisionally offer contracts, both to our existing player in event we stay up and championship level players if we go down. If in meantime another club offers same players a definite contract then they would be silly to refuse it. In that sense it would be better for us long term to reach point where it's mathematically impossible to stay up sooner rather than later then we can start signing deals.

How are they going to sell season tickets? I assume for just the first half of the season? The whole thing is a minefield.

First half? It's a little more than that. We will play 11 home games in the regular season, only 2 less than this year.
The playoff system will only result in another 4 home games at most. I'm sure they will offer a package deal for the extra home games if we qualify for the playoff.

Even if we don't qualify for middle eight playoff there's a playoff in bottom eight too. So still 4 extra home games after initial 11. I'd guess they'd offer a season ticket with and without the playoff series. Then offer a 4 match mini season ticket once they know which set of eight were in. But price it such that its cheaper to buy full season ticket at start of season, when you dont know which eight we'll finish in, than it is to buy cut down season ticket plus mini one.

What a mess from whatever angle it is going to be difficult solve this mess and sell Season Tickets. Supporters will just turn off.

I agree with that

If we're going down, it makes a lot of sense to be put out of our misery sooner rather than later

Surely the first question is where will we be playing? I cannot see how we can afford to play at Odsal under the current arrangement, paying market rate rent to the RFL and being responsible for the upkeep of the ground, if we are in the Championship.

We could not afford paying token rent and the upkeep before the deal with RFL over the lease with SL funding and attendances. Unless something has changed on that front, how can we afford Odsal if we go down?

It will come as no surprise whatsoever if, however it is dressed up, we end up not being able to afford Odsal, and Odsal ends up being developed as whatever. So far as I am concerned Odsal is a goner.

It would be an interesting development if we were to let the lease [from the RFL go, since, as I understand it, as no Bradford club would then be playing at the ground, one of the major conditions of the primary lease [the RFL's would also be be broken and the council would be withing it's rights to cancel it.

I guess the RFL could ask/coerce one of the local amateur clubs to play there, so as to keep their 'investment'.

There is also the other point about the 'Odsal settlement', whereby the club had to repay a proportion of the monies received if they left before 2019. Of course, with the comings and goings, owners coming in and going out [and presumably, changes to the lease wording/ it might be hard to work out who had responsibility to pay, though I suspect it might be 'the club' rather than any holding company.

Equally, there was meant to be a clause in the original deal that if Odsal were ever developed for non-rugby purposes, the Rfl are constrained to build a 16000 stadium in the Bradford district for Bradford Bulls to use.

Admittedly, Hood told me this. And hindsight tells me otherwise.

Equally there have been 2 administrations since then and several changes of ownership.

But again, if the clause says "the club" rather than the company, assuming it exists of course, and everyone actually signed the damn thing....

Wakefield need a ground, the RFL have one.....



Edit: the RFL have a ground, for as long as a Bradford rugby club play more than 90% of their home games there. Otherwise the whole site reverts to the council.

Re-name Wakefield as Bradford, Mmmmmm

Legally the club is not an entity, each time a new owner arrives it is a case of entering into a new lease / sublease. So BBNL would have entered into a new sublease with RFL, with the consent of the head lessee (BMDC).

You'd assume that all the terms would normally remain the same, but without seeing the new lease, it's hard to say. But you wouldn't expect any landlord to water down its own protections / advantages / tenant's responsibilities, to its own detriment.

One obvious sticking point is the "repayment" clause. I would suggest it improbable the RFL "took over" that clause since it wasn't they who received the money.

One thing we can all be sure though is if the main parties find it expedient, a way could easily be found to end the whole "rugby at Odsal" arrangement and plead necessity.

Didn't Marc Green come out and say he intended to re-purchase the long leasehold from the RFL?
If he and the RFL are both true to their word (long shot, I know), then next season may see Marc acquire the lease back from them.

Not only that, but Marc also mentioned purchasing the freehold from Bradford Council!

Mr Green and the RFL keeping their word....

Good one.

If there's some deal to get us out and develop the place or landfill or whatever then I can see that. Some people may be able to see Green acquiring the ground for us to play Championship rugby but I'm not one of them.

Can't see us affording the upkeep of Odsal in the Championship. Why would anyone want to but it?

The story doing the rounds at the time of the debenture was that Green had got a valuation on the place and the figure IIRC was £38m. Presumably free of all present strings of course. Now, if there's that sort of money available then a cynic might not be surprised if those able to do, did.

So what do you think Bfd Council would sell it for?

your kidding me think again

I guess the council could do as they wish, since it was their clause in the first place, I assume they can ignore it, if they decide its in the public interest. If the "improvement" in the economy actually begins to appear on the ground and starts to help industry it may well be the council are sitting on a potential 'gold mine' at the end of the M606 and they would be happy to see the Bulls out of the way.

I am afraid the function of the M606 is to provide a quick way out of Bradford, but our "iconic" stadium is certainly worth more without a fading RL club in occupation. Maybe that is the RFL game plan, see out the fixtures then come to some arrangement to vacate Odsal and return the site to the council for a % of the proceeds?

First parts of Greens Plan B are: Odsal, another coach and a full time squad.

To be confirmed, the squad, if "SL only" contract status confirmed by Roger, can be completely rebuilt with new team and new contracts.

Odsal is the only disappointment in that lot.