In this, the last home match of the 2008-2009 season, City beat Rotherham 3-0.
In the final part of our Odsal odyssey we chart the departure of the Bulls from Valley Parade and the proposed Odsal Sporting Village. Ground sharing between Bradford’s two professional sporting clubs is back on the agenda, but despite the grand plans for Odsal, it’s debateable where the shared ground will be.
With the collapse of the Tesco development at Odsal in 2002 the council came under increasing pressure to fund a return of the Bradford Bulls to Odsal. Though the Bulls had received £1.2m from the council to compensate them for their two year sojourn at Valley Parade, they also wanted the council to foot the bill to bring Odsal up to standard. Bulls chairman Chris Caisley even threatened to take the Bulls out of Bradford. In truth it was probably a bluff to increase the pressure on the Council as they assed the options. The council revealed that repairs and improvements to Odsal would cost at least £660,000 just to bring the ground back up to the basic health and safety standards.
Chris Caisley claimed the Council was only prepared to do 'the bare minimum' for the club over the next decade-and-a-half: "That means spending a minimum amount on health and safety grounds. It will mean that after two years, capacity will drop from 25,000 to 14,000 and that in the interim period, there will be no bars and hospitality facilities open to the public. It doesn't seem to be a stadium for the World Club Champions, does it?
"It seems to me that over a number of years, and certainly throughout my involvement in the club, the Council has abrogated that responsibility to the point where it's allowed the stadium to rot, to become an eyesore in due course and, if their present plans are to be believed, to make it very difficult to sustain a business within that stadium."
Councillor Simon Cooke, Deputy Leader of Bradford Council commented: "We're obviously in a situation that none of us, not the Bulls, not the developers nor the Council or indeed the people of Bradford, wanted to be in and we have now got to work for a long-term solution. In the short-term, however, we have a requirement, and Chris has made it absolutely clear on a number of occasions that he wants to go back to play at Odsal, and I understand why he wants to do this, and why Bull fans want to do that. What we are doing as a Council is the bare minimum at this point necessary to enable him to get back and play next season.”
The shenanigans put even greater momentum behind the supporters campaign to return the Bulls to Odsal. The council eventually bowed to public pressure and in August 2002 announced details of the agreement that was to take the Bulls home. The council agreed to pay the Bulls £4.64m over two years. The deal attracted intense criticism from sections of the public, but the council said the deal would be paid for by the sale of land and properties owned by the council, as well as some borrowing. A 150-year lease was signed at a peppercorn rate, reputedly £1 per year. The council also spent £660,000 on health & safety work to bring Odsal up to standard for the 2003 Super League season.
The Main Stand was refurbished, with nearly 5,000 new seats and roof. New floodlights completed the refurbishment and all was ready for the triumphant return on 9 March 2003 when the Bulls met Wakefield Trinity. The improvements didn’t stop there. A two-storey corporate hospitality facility was later constructed on the site of the speedway pits at the Low Moor end of the ground.
The cost to the local taxpayer for the collapse of the Tesco development was immense. The Bradford Bulls received just short of £6m of public money between 2000-03. Another £1m was spent on a combination of bringing Odsal back up to scratch to facilitate the Bulls return and consultancy fees.
In 2004, when Bradford City was on the brink of closure, council leader Margaret Eaton told City fans that the council was unable to help out as City was ‘a private business’. Today in 2009 the council have set aside £15m of public money to help develop the Odsal Sporting Village. If the Sporting Village goes ahead it would mean that since 2000 £23m of public money will have been spent on Odsal related matters.
The council seem determined to press ahead with a development that has, at its heart, a brand new stadium for the Bradford Bulls. Yet reports suggest that Valley Parade – a virtually brand new 25,000 capacity all-seater stadium – is for sale for around £2.5m.
Showing posts with label Odsal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Odsal. Show all posts
Saturday, 25 April 2009
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Brentford
A late goal by Peter Thorne earned City a 1-1 draw.
We continue our look at the public investment into Odsal Stadium by moving into the 1980s. The era of the World Speedway Final and, of course, our own term at the ground.
The 1985 World Speedway Final seemed to offer the opportunity at long last to develop Odsal’s undoubted potential. On 15 May 1984 the Telegraph & Argus reported that Odsal was set to become Britain’s national speedway home, a £1.5m transformation (financed in part by a substantial EU grant) would increase the capacity from 25,000 to 40,000 in time for the 1985 World Individual Final.
The 50-year-old Main Stand was to be demolished and replaced by open concrete terracing. Under the terracing new dressing rooms were to be built. The North Stand was to be refurbished, giving it a new roof and a 6,000 capacity. The rugby pitch was to be moved slightly to accommodate a newly laid speedway track. Crush barriers were replaced on the Rooley Avenue end. It was the most comprehensive refurbishment of the stadium for decades.
After years of prevarication, the council seemed to have finally grasped the Odsal nettle. The council took over day-to-day running of the stadium from Northern, whose staff transferred to the council’s payroll. Liaison with stock cars, and the all-important speedway, passed to the council.
Arguably, Odsal’s proudest day since the staging of the famous Challenge Cup Final in 1954, came on 31 August 1985 when 37,000 fans enjoyed the new, albeit basic, facilities, to witness the World Speedway Final. Of course, a few months earlier Valley Parade had been devastated by the terrible fire that caused the deaths of 56 fans. Although City played a handful of games at Leeds Road, Huddersfield and Elland Road, Leeds, Odsal was the obvious venue for the Bantams whilst the future of Valley Parade was decided. On 23 September 1985, a Football League delegation visited Odsal to view the stadium in order to pass it fit to host City’s home games. Segregation fences were erected on the old Main Stand side and 1,000 uncovered seats were bolted onto the terracing.
Odsal’s first professional football match came on Tuesday 8 October, when Brighton were the visitors in a League Cup second round tie. It was hardly an auspicious start, the game was played in a torrential downpour and City lost 0-2 in front of 5,368 spectators. Fans of both City and Northern viewed City’s Odsal sojourn gloomily. The latter felt put out by the erection of segregation fences at ‘their’ ground, whilst the former were busy lobbying hard for a return to Valley Parade and the construction of a stadium as a fitting reminder to the 56 fans who had died in the fire.
The thoughts of City fans were expressed by former City Gent editor John Dewhirst, writing in When Saturday Comes.
“Our first season away from Valley Parade was one of despair. The local authority appeared reluctant to assist in the redevelopment of our home ground, and it seemed that we might have to watch our football at the inhospitable Odsal stadium.
“Followers of the Bantams were active in petitioning for the return to Valley Parade. The initial hesitation of local government to provide money alienated people who pointed to the fact that enormous amounts of money had been spent on restoring a Bradford theatre. Correspondence to the local press included the usual sermons from the law and order brigade, demanding why public money should be used to assist a private limited company.”
Of course, City eventually returned to a rebuilt Valley Parade, made possible by a grant from West Yorkshire County Council. Back at Odsal Bradford Council seemed determined to press ahead with improvements. Between 1986-90 £3.5m was spent and in 1990 the World Speedway Final returned. 26,418 saw the final, some ten thousand lower than the 1985 final. Steep prices rises were blamed with fans having to pay £35 for a seat and £17.50 on the terraces. Without doubt it priced out many locals who may have been attracted to watch the novelty of a World Final on their doorsteps.
The council signed a new agreement regarding the running of Odsal in 1986. As former Northern chairman Chris Caisley explained the rugby club would received annual payments as compensation: "We gave up revenues from the bars, car parks and other events within the stadium. In return we have been compensated for that loss”.
The agreement was due to run to 2019. There’s no doubt that it was an excellent deal for Northern as by 2001 the annual payment they received from the council had grown to £337,000. In time the council were to rue signing the deal, it placed Northern in a very strong bargaining position and it caused huge resentment from Bradford City and the Keighley Cougars who received nothing like that kind of support from the public purse.
In truth City’s decision to return to Valley Parade had undermined any chance of the Odsal development reaching its potential. With Valley Parade rebuilt as a modern stadium the likelihood now was the Northern would come the other way and Odsal abandoned. However, with so much public money invested in Odsal, the council obviously wouldn’t want to be linked to such a spectacular failure. The political impact would have been enormous. So, they were forced to plough on. In the Lincoln programme we will relive the Superdome, the death of the Bradford Dukes and the Bulls at Valley Parade.
We continue our look at the public investment into Odsal Stadium by moving into the 1980s. The era of the World Speedway Final and, of course, our own term at the ground.
The 1985 World Speedway Final seemed to offer the opportunity at long last to develop Odsal’s undoubted potential. On 15 May 1984 the Telegraph & Argus reported that Odsal was set to become Britain’s national speedway home, a £1.5m transformation (financed in part by a substantial EU grant) would increase the capacity from 25,000 to 40,000 in time for the 1985 World Individual Final.
The 50-year-old Main Stand was to be demolished and replaced by open concrete terracing. Under the terracing new dressing rooms were to be built. The North Stand was to be refurbished, giving it a new roof and a 6,000 capacity. The rugby pitch was to be moved slightly to accommodate a newly laid speedway track. Crush barriers were replaced on the Rooley Avenue end. It was the most comprehensive refurbishment of the stadium for decades.
After years of prevarication, the council seemed to have finally grasped the Odsal nettle. The council took over day-to-day running of the stadium from Northern, whose staff transferred to the council’s payroll. Liaison with stock cars, and the all-important speedway, passed to the council.
Arguably, Odsal’s proudest day since the staging of the famous Challenge Cup Final in 1954, came on 31 August 1985 when 37,000 fans enjoyed the new, albeit basic, facilities, to witness the World Speedway Final. Of course, a few months earlier Valley Parade had been devastated by the terrible fire that caused the deaths of 56 fans. Although City played a handful of games at Leeds Road, Huddersfield and Elland Road, Leeds, Odsal was the obvious venue for the Bantams whilst the future of Valley Parade was decided. On 23 September 1985, a Football League delegation visited Odsal to view the stadium in order to pass it fit to host City’s home games. Segregation fences were erected on the old Main Stand side and 1,000 uncovered seats were bolted onto the terracing.
Odsal’s first professional football match came on Tuesday 8 October, when Brighton were the visitors in a League Cup second round tie. It was hardly an auspicious start, the game was played in a torrential downpour and City lost 0-2 in front of 5,368 spectators. Fans of both City and Northern viewed City’s Odsal sojourn gloomily. The latter felt put out by the erection of segregation fences at ‘their’ ground, whilst the former were busy lobbying hard for a return to Valley Parade and the construction of a stadium as a fitting reminder to the 56 fans who had died in the fire.
The thoughts of City fans were expressed by former City Gent editor John Dewhirst, writing in When Saturday Comes.
“Our first season away from Valley Parade was one of despair. The local authority appeared reluctant to assist in the redevelopment of our home ground, and it seemed that we might have to watch our football at the inhospitable Odsal stadium.
“Followers of the Bantams were active in petitioning for the return to Valley Parade. The initial hesitation of local government to provide money alienated people who pointed to the fact that enormous amounts of money had been spent on restoring a Bradford theatre. Correspondence to the local press included the usual sermons from the law and order brigade, demanding why public money should be used to assist a private limited company.”
Of course, City eventually returned to a rebuilt Valley Parade, made possible by a grant from West Yorkshire County Council. Back at Odsal Bradford Council seemed determined to press ahead with improvements. Between 1986-90 £3.5m was spent and in 1990 the World Speedway Final returned. 26,418 saw the final, some ten thousand lower than the 1985 final. Steep prices rises were blamed with fans having to pay £35 for a seat and £17.50 on the terraces. Without doubt it priced out many locals who may have been attracted to watch the novelty of a World Final on their doorsteps.
The council signed a new agreement regarding the running of Odsal in 1986. As former Northern chairman Chris Caisley explained the rugby club would received annual payments as compensation: "We gave up revenues from the bars, car parks and other events within the stadium. In return we have been compensated for that loss”.
The agreement was due to run to 2019. There’s no doubt that it was an excellent deal for Northern as by 2001 the annual payment they received from the council had grown to £337,000. In time the council were to rue signing the deal, it placed Northern in a very strong bargaining position and it caused huge resentment from Bradford City and the Keighley Cougars who received nothing like that kind of support from the public purse.
In truth City’s decision to return to Valley Parade had undermined any chance of the Odsal development reaching its potential. With Valley Parade rebuilt as a modern stadium the likelihood now was the Northern would come the other way and Odsal abandoned. However, with so much public money invested in Odsal, the council obviously wouldn’t want to be linked to such a spectacular failure. The political impact would have been enormous. So, they were forced to plough on. In the Lincoln programme we will relive the Superdome, the death of the Bradford Dukes and the Bulls at Valley Parade.
Saturday, 7 March 2009
Aldershot
City went on to win this game 5-0.
The decision by the Council to put £15m into the Odsal Sporting Village will undoubtedly reignite the debate as to whether City should leave Valley Parade and share the huge stadium in south Bradford.
In later programme notes I will chart the history of Odsal, and the huge public investment that has been made in the stadium over the last 75 years, but for now we’ll look at City’s involvement thus far.
Ever since Odsal Stadium was developed in the 1930s, City have been linked with moves there on numerous occasions. Odsal was the central plank of a 1937 proposed merger between City and Avenue, the brainchild of Avenue chairman Stanley Waddilove, the new club was to be housed at a ‘continental style’ stadium at Odsal. The City board rejected the proposal on the grounds that one transfer could solve their financial problems. Additionally, City had recently purchased the freehold to Valley Parade and had undertaken ground improvements. Less understandable was the attitude of the Northern board, who opposed the plan on the grounds that they didn’t want a shared tenancy. One can only assume that the reality of maintaining, let alone developing, the huge stadium hadn’t at that time become apparent to the Northern board.
Twenty-four years later, Council Engineer Ernest Wardley drew up a plan in September 1951 for a 92,000 capacity ‘European’ style stadium, at a cost of £250,000. In the event £50,000 was spent on terracing the Rooley Avenue end in 1964, before the Wardley plan was officially dropped the following year. Arguably, the Wardley plan was the biggest missed opportunity of Bradford’s sporting history. From almost that moment, any hope of a cohesive plan for developing a shared City of Bradford stadium was gone.
But still the dreams of a ‘Wembley of the North’ persisted. Two decades on the Council convened talks with Northern, City and Avenue. On 21 October 1971 the Telegraph & Argus pondered ‘could Odsal be developed as a new multi-sport complex, catering for both soccer and rugby league?’ Alderman Newby, the instigator of the talks, said the likely £1m cost “would have to come from somewhere else, such as bringing in a development company”.
On 12 December 1972, a developer stepped forward, but rather than a shared arena, their plans envisaged Northern vacating their traditional home. The Telegraph & Argus reported ‘A £4m scheme for Odsal is being discussed between Bradford Corporation and a London company. Under the scheme there would be no place for Bradford Northern and rugby league at the stadium’.
Hackney and Hendon Greyhounds Plc proposed a 22,000 all-seater stadium, swimming pool, cinema and ancillary sports facilities. A condition of the scheme would be a new home for Northern at Park Avenue. The company was prepared to invest £3m, provided the Council contributed £1m.
Not surprisingly the scheme attracted huge controversy, which was fuelled further when City chairman, Stafford Heginbotham, discussed on YTVs ‘Calendar’ programme the possibility of City moving to Odsal.
On 2 January 1973, Alderman John Senior said the Council were not prepared to accept the scheme, unless the terms were improved. However, he was confident that Odsal “isn’t going to stop a hole in the ground forever”. By April the deal had collapsed, negotiations broke down when Hackney & Hendon Greyhounds wanted the Council to pay £3m towards the development.
In the early 1980s Odsal was refurbished in order to stage the World Speedway Final of 1985. On 31 August of that year 37,000 fans enjoyed the new, albeit basic, facilities, to witness a thrilling Final.
Of course, a few months earlier Valley Parade had been devastated by the terrible fire that caused the deaths of 56 fans. Although City played a handful of games at Leeds Road, Huddersfield and Elland Road, Leeds, Odsal was the obvious venue for the Bantams whilst the future of Valley Parade was decided. On 23 September 1985, a Football League delegation visited Odsal to view the stadium in order to pass it fit to host City’s home games. Segregation fences were erected on the old Main Stand side and 1,000 uncovered seats were bolted onto the terracing – it was planned to install 7,000 in the future.
Odsal’s first professional football match came on Tuesday 8 October, when Brighton were the visitors in a League Cup second round tie. It was hardly an auspicious start, the game was played in a torrential downpour and City lost 0-2 in front of 5,368 spectators.
Fans of both City and Northern viewed City’s Odsal sojourn gloomily. The latter felt put out by the erection of segregation fences at ‘their’ ground, whilst the former were busy lobbying hard for a return to Valley Parade and the construction of a stadium as a fitting reminder to the 56 fans who had died in the fire.
The Council initially didn’t hide its desire to see City move permanently to Odsal. The momentum seemed to be with Odsal, perhaps sensing that this was the big chance to finally realise the ‘Wembley of the North’ dream, plans of a £15m development were unveiled on 5 November 1985. The master plan was for two new 14,000 capacity cantilever stands, terracing behind each end and a 61,000 capacity by 1990. It was envisaged that Rugby League Challenge Cup Finals and FA Cup semi-finals would be staged at the new stadium.
Meanwhile a further £1m was spent to conform with new safety standards – bringing the total spent on Odsal to £3.5m. New boundary walls, turnstiles, exit gates, a bus lay-by in Rooley Avenue and access road were added.
But it wasn’t to be, the emotional draw of Valley Parade was too strong and in December 1986 City returned to a rebuilt ground. Given the subsequent developments at Valley Parade, the spectre of City at Odsal has receded for at least another generation.
The decision by the Council to put £15m into the Odsal Sporting Village will undoubtedly reignite the debate as to whether City should leave Valley Parade and share the huge stadium in south Bradford.
In later programme notes I will chart the history of Odsal, and the huge public investment that has been made in the stadium over the last 75 years, but for now we’ll look at City’s involvement thus far.
Ever since Odsal Stadium was developed in the 1930s, City have been linked with moves there on numerous occasions. Odsal was the central plank of a 1937 proposed merger between City and Avenue, the brainchild of Avenue chairman Stanley Waddilove, the new club was to be housed at a ‘continental style’ stadium at Odsal. The City board rejected the proposal on the grounds that one transfer could solve their financial problems. Additionally, City had recently purchased the freehold to Valley Parade and had undertaken ground improvements. Less understandable was the attitude of the Northern board, who opposed the plan on the grounds that they didn’t want a shared tenancy. One can only assume that the reality of maintaining, let alone developing, the huge stadium hadn’t at that time become apparent to the Northern board.
Twenty-four years later, Council Engineer Ernest Wardley drew up a plan in September 1951 for a 92,000 capacity ‘European’ style stadium, at a cost of £250,000. In the event £50,000 was spent on terracing the Rooley Avenue end in 1964, before the Wardley plan was officially dropped the following year. Arguably, the Wardley plan was the biggest missed opportunity of Bradford’s sporting history. From almost that moment, any hope of a cohesive plan for developing a shared City of Bradford stadium was gone.
But still the dreams of a ‘Wembley of the North’ persisted. Two decades on the Council convened talks with Northern, City and Avenue. On 21 October 1971 the Telegraph & Argus pondered ‘could Odsal be developed as a new multi-sport complex, catering for both soccer and rugby league?’ Alderman Newby, the instigator of the talks, said the likely £1m cost “would have to come from somewhere else, such as bringing in a development company”.
On 12 December 1972, a developer stepped forward, but rather than a shared arena, their plans envisaged Northern vacating their traditional home. The Telegraph & Argus reported ‘A £4m scheme for Odsal is being discussed between Bradford Corporation and a London company. Under the scheme there would be no place for Bradford Northern and rugby league at the stadium’.
Hackney and Hendon Greyhounds Plc proposed a 22,000 all-seater stadium, swimming pool, cinema and ancillary sports facilities. A condition of the scheme would be a new home for Northern at Park Avenue. The company was prepared to invest £3m, provided the Council contributed £1m.
Not surprisingly the scheme attracted huge controversy, which was fuelled further when City chairman, Stafford Heginbotham, discussed on YTVs ‘Calendar’ programme the possibility of City moving to Odsal.
On 2 January 1973, Alderman John Senior said the Council were not prepared to accept the scheme, unless the terms were improved. However, he was confident that Odsal “isn’t going to stop a hole in the ground forever”. By April the deal had collapsed, negotiations broke down when Hackney & Hendon Greyhounds wanted the Council to pay £3m towards the development.
In the early 1980s Odsal was refurbished in order to stage the World Speedway Final of 1985. On 31 August of that year 37,000 fans enjoyed the new, albeit basic, facilities, to witness a thrilling Final.
Of course, a few months earlier Valley Parade had been devastated by the terrible fire that caused the deaths of 56 fans. Although City played a handful of games at Leeds Road, Huddersfield and Elland Road, Leeds, Odsal was the obvious venue for the Bantams whilst the future of Valley Parade was decided. On 23 September 1985, a Football League delegation visited Odsal to view the stadium in order to pass it fit to host City’s home games. Segregation fences were erected on the old Main Stand side and 1,000 uncovered seats were bolted onto the terracing – it was planned to install 7,000 in the future.
Odsal’s first professional football match came on Tuesday 8 October, when Brighton were the visitors in a League Cup second round tie. It was hardly an auspicious start, the game was played in a torrential downpour and City lost 0-2 in front of 5,368 spectators.
Fans of both City and Northern viewed City’s Odsal sojourn gloomily. The latter felt put out by the erection of segregation fences at ‘their’ ground, whilst the former were busy lobbying hard for a return to Valley Parade and the construction of a stadium as a fitting reminder to the 56 fans who had died in the fire.
The Council initially didn’t hide its desire to see City move permanently to Odsal. The momentum seemed to be with Odsal, perhaps sensing that this was the big chance to finally realise the ‘Wembley of the North’ dream, plans of a £15m development were unveiled on 5 November 1985. The master plan was for two new 14,000 capacity cantilever stands, terracing behind each end and a 61,000 capacity by 1990. It was envisaged that Rugby League Challenge Cup Finals and FA Cup semi-finals would be staged at the new stadium.
Meanwhile a further £1m was spent to conform with new safety standards – bringing the total spent on Odsal to £3.5m. New boundary walls, turnstiles, exit gates, a bus lay-by in Rooley Avenue and access road were added.
But it wasn’t to be, the emotional draw of Valley Parade was too strong and in December 1986 City returned to a rebuilt ground. Given the subsequent developments at Valley Parade, the spectre of City at Odsal has receded for at least another generation.
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