Exclusive: 'Last chance' for Bradford City-Bulls merger

JULIAN RHODES last night called for the biggest shake-up in Bradford's sporting history with a merger of the city's senior football and rugby league clubs.

In the wake of the 75.5m sporting village for Odsal being kicked into touch due to a funding shortfall, the City joint chairman believes the time has come for his own club and the Bulls to be run by one entity with both playing at Valley Parade.

Rhodes is adamant such a move would help revitalise both clubs after a slump in fortunes that has seen the Bantams slip into the basement division and the Bulls finish last season in their lowest position of the Super League era.

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Under his proposal, Odsal would be sold and the funds used to turn Valley Parade, which has had 15m spent on redevelopment in the past 14 years, into a base for both clubs.

Speaking exclusively to the Yorkshire Post, Rhodes said: "After the collapse of another scheme for Odsal, the time has come for some clear thinking.

"Bradford needs a lift as a city, everyone can see that, and sport could be the catalyst for that positive change – but only if there is some imaginative thinking that can provide us with a true vision.

"The two clubs sharing one stadium has always been worth investigating, it is why we were open-minded about possibly moving to Odsal when the latest scheme was first suggested.

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"But now that is dead, surely the time has come for City and the Bulls to look into pooling our resources at Valley Parade? What I will say is we are not interested in the Bulls coming down here just to share our stadium with no money.

"Instead, any plan has to be entirely dependent on Odsal being sold for a decent pot of money. With that in mind, the Council's next step should be to investigate just how much the land at Odsal is worth because, without that, there is no hope of the clubs coming together as one entity.

"If the two clubs don't move in together now, we never will. This is our last opportunity to get Bradford sport going back in the right direction. Let's not waste it."

Rhodes's blueprint for the future of Bradford sport follows last month's news that the latest grandiose scheme for Odsal, which included an 18,000 capacity all-seater stadium, has bitten the dust.

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Since then, Bradford Council, who have committed 15m to the project from their capital budget, have started looking at several scaled-down options.

Rhodes, however, believes this would be a monumental mistake and wants to sit down with Bulls chairman Peter Hood and the council in the near future.

He said: "We have to get things moving. There are possible benefits for both clubs in terms of ticketing through to shared overheads such as rent and utility bills.

"On the flipside, the clubs would miss out on individual naming rights for the stadium and other income streams.

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"It is why the clubs coming together can only happen if Odsal is sold for a decent sum, hence why the council must discover its true value."

One potential stumbling block to the two sharing Valley Parade is that the stadium is owned by an outside party, namely the family pension fund of former City chairman Gordon Gibb.

The ground was sold in 2003 for 2.5m to try to alleviate the Bantams' then perilous financial position and the League Two club last year paid 339,000 in rent.

Seventeen years remain on the lease, though City, who also rent the site that houses the club shop and office block from Prudential, have an option to extend by a further 25 years.

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Using the proceeds from selling Odsal to buying Valley Parade on behalf of a newly-formed stadium management company would, according to Rhodes, be something to investigate.

However, he is also quick to point out that it is not the only option open to a newly-formed Bradford sporting club. He said: "If the council come back and say Odsal is worth only 2m then that means us moving in together is a non-starter. But if it is worth a decent sum, surely selling the land and using the proceeds to help both clubs get back on their feet is the sensible option.

"Depending on what the findings are, there may be enough money to buy Valley Parade. But if there isn't then the proceeds can still be put to good use.

"Moving the Bulls in here would also prevent the council spending another 15m on Odsal, money that could be spent on worthier causes than a sports stadium.

"The council has wasted enough money on Odsal already and the question needs to be asked how they got into the position where they were paying the Bulls so much to play there in the first place."