The Bradford Bulls could soon be playing at the ' Wembley of the North' after plans were submitted for a 25,000-seat indoor arena on the site of their current Odsal Stadium.
Bradford Council have submitted the provisions, that would see the site completely transformed. The new arena would retain Odsal's famous bowl structure but would also be used to host music and entertainment events to help embrace Bradford becoming UK City of Culture in 2025.
The Odsal site has long been dubbed a potential 'Wembley of the North', albeit without the 90,000 capacity the London based-stadium can boast. The Bulls actually left their current home in 2019 amid escalating costs and relocated to Dewsbury as they tried to recover from going into liquidation, only to return to the venue in May last year.
And a report in the Daily Mail outlined the new grand plans of the former Super League and World Club champions, who have not played in the top flight since 2014. The proposed building would become the largest permanently covered stadium in England, and would host rugby league internationals and domestic cup games.
However, the venture is dependent on a successful bid in the second round of the Government's Levelling Up Fund, which has two potential awards of £50million for culture-led schemes. Additional funding would come from private and public-sector partners with the provisional plan of beginning work in 2024.
The site would also contain facilities to accommodate both professional players and elite level youngsters. In addition, under current plans the complex would lead to a new 105-bedroom hotel, with the prospect of creating 480 full-time jobs over a decade.
Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, told the Mail : "Independent analysis has shown that Bradford is the country's number one levelling up opportunity and these plans build on our long-term strategy to harness the power of sport to drive economic growth.
"Bradford can create a home for rugby league which reflects the status of both the sport and the city, and which will generate almost £1billion in economic benefits for Bradford over a decade. We are committed to working with the RFL to deliver a sport and training facility which provides skills and generates job opportunities for young people in Bradford and beyond."
The Bulls currently compete in the Championship having been promoted back to the second tier in 2018. Their recent struggles have represented a huge fall from grace following the club's golden era from 1996 to 2011, which yielded four Super League titles, two Challenge Cups, and three World Club Championships.
