This is just a wind up? Yes?

LEWIS OUT WOOD OUT LEWIS OUT WOOD OUT

Get some players who are nearing retirement such as Peacock and Morley who understand the sport more than the current pillocks do

I'm okay with it, for the following reason.

As I understand it, the council own Odsal. The council have to raise funds due to cuts, and so they have to sell off assets, one of them being a big hole in the ground not too far from the motorway. Developers are sniffing, and so the Bulls are faced with being booted out of their ground and made homeless, and so the RFL stepped in, and good on 'em.

The same doesn't apply to us or Cas. We don't have to move (subject to the continuing consent of the Bank of Ireland), and neither do Cas. The grounds will be preserved, unless we choose to move. The problem is that to retain top flight status we have to move, but that is different to being homeless.

Also, it is our own fault if the bank does boot us out, because our club sold the ground to a company, no doubt hoping said company would make a fast buck in the booming property market once Thornes Park went through.

Whoops.

So it isn't comparable to our situation really.

I sympathise with you,some of you may have gathered that Wakey are my 2nd club.Now I am old enough to remember Bradford being down and out more than once before 1963-4 they folded and it was left to clubs like Trinity and Bramley ,yes Bramley to bail them out.The RFL said they paid market value for the ground and Bulls will pay market value rent,which means they should be paying consideralably more than the peppercorn rent they paid to BCC,but what you need to ask is who pays for the necessary maintaince which needs upkeep every year as you well know.The RFL stated they have no immediate plans to redevelop the stadium,[no immediate plans].I think Belle vue would have been much cheaper to redevelop than Odsal.

I guess the devil is in the detail so hold fire on the boycott banners for a minute.

I can see why you're all peeved though, especially with everything you're going through with Newmarket and the same with Cas at Glasshoughton. Hopefully that will all go through and you'll be sorted.

BTW the RFL haven't bought Odsal, the Council still own it. Instead the RFL have bought the Bulls lease (99 years or something IIRC) and will now rent the ground to the Bulls. Whether they pay for it's upkeep or improve it or whatever is still unclear.

On the Bulls forum there is some mention that the local council were thinking of selling Odsal ? and this is why the RFL have steppd in. It is stunning that so much talk of ourselves and Cas should have new stadia and most of us had many sleepless nights worrying if our club would survive and/ or get a new licence.
This situation has arisen before the official start of the 2012 season, ie before the start of the new franchise period. Should Fax take the place of the Dulls in SL ?
I know that is just being silly, but what the hell is going on ?
Double standards to protect one of the RFL's favourites.
This is not sport.

snippet off the RFL site
“We have paid market value for the stadium and the Bulls will pay market value rental to the RFL to play their home fixtures at Odsal.”

so nothing changes then in rent but the RFL have the up keep of the stadium that's a bright investment

In fairness with catalans.... it has worked in that they are now a good team attracting some of the worlds best players to super league, with a good attendence, a decent improved ground and they are now regularly achieving play off standards.

On the other hand, this is the exception compared to fulham/london broncos/ harlequins/london broncos/ whatever they will next become and celtic whatever they are now callled.

The rfl is a complete joke though. Lewis is bent, he needs to resign along with the rest of them. The whole game is bent. It needs people in the ilk of glover to step in and run it, business people who will run it properly as the business/ governing body it is, people with no ties to any club or any conflicting interests.

It is still a rugby club that cannot sustain its playing facility and ok the reasons are different to our own, but in each case it boils down to pound notes (or the lack of them).
If the RFL give us or Cas enough cash, we too could sustain and improve our own facilities to SL standard.
Also, we are not yet into the SL season, so when did all of this rear its head and what was the Dulls franchise application based on ?
Our friends in Halifax are not going to be happy.

Wheres Fat Nigel from? BRADFORD! Whats the point of us (Fax), Wakey, Fev, Cas etc investing in ground developments when the Licence fiasco is bent to help certain clubs anyway. We have the RFL fixing it so that the Crusaders were in SL when they clearly were not fit. Where are they now? Bradford are not in the best position financially, get the ground sorted for them-who do you think will pay for any stadium developments? Not the Bulls! Who sold Thrum Hall which saw next to no money go in to the development of the Shay after he had helped run up big debts? Nigel Wood!

Am I the only one confused. Have the RFL (1) bought Odsal or (2) merely took over the lease from the Bulls?

The first would be bad enough but at least understandable to ward off the alleged potential predators looking to buy the ground and would fit in with the comment of "no immediate plans to develop", as you wouldn't spend money developing a ground you didn't own (unless you had to like we are at present). The second does not make any sense, as I can't see how it protects the ground from predators anymore than the Bulls maintaining the lease themselves.

The RFL should make full disclosure on this deal to the chairman of all member clubs so they know fully what has gone on.

here's a thought now Bradford don't own Odsal whats stopping them moving to the city ground and paying a cheaper rent there

where would that put the RFL with no income they must be tied to some contract

I'm struggling to understand this. If the Council own the Ground and Bradford have a long lease then why would the RL buy the lease? Bradford would have security of tenure surely under the lease so all they have done is change landlords.

Unless of course Bradford were experiencing financila difficulties and this assisted them in some way.

Confused of Sandal.