Three main developments were reported for the OSV project. First, the Council has confirmed the compliance of its plans with the objectives and priorities of its partner organisations. These organisations include the Bradford Bulls, Bradford College and Bradford University, and the Council has revealed that it is in advanced negotiations with the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of five different sports: rugby league, tennis, cycling, gymnastics and netball. The Council has decided to propose the project which fully complies with their aspirations (the £80m scheme) and this represents the first stage of the planning process. The Council still needs to confirm funding for the project and to seek the appropriate planning permissions before the final construction stage of the project can begin. Bradford City is not a partner organisation, and so had not made any input into the planning process.

Second, the Council is ‘clustering and phasing’ the project. This means that the project is likely to be split into different parts, which may be delivered according to different time scales.

Third, it was acknowledged that the overall timetable has slipped over the past year. The OSV project is complex, and the effects of the credit crunch have made the financial climate a difficult one. In addition, the well-known problems with the finances of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) have meant that the status of Bradford College has changed within the project–it cannot act now as one of the primary investors, although it still hopes to use purpose-built facilities within the OSV funded from other sources.

The Project managers hope to make a more detailed report to the Council Executive by late February, including the finances of the project. Council officers were consequently unable to answer any of the specific questions put forward by City supporters about the overall budget for the project, the cost of the new stadium or the deals it may offer to the two full-time professional clubs–the Bradford Bulls and Bradford City.

It was however stated that Bradford Council will not make any direct contribution to the building costs of any new stadium. The Bulls are seeking other sources of funding for the new stadium, including the Rugby League. The Council and Yorkshire Forward contributions already announced are for other aspects of the project.

The construction of a new stadium is nevertheless seen as essential to the viability of the whole project. The new stadium is the prestige element that is helping to attract capital funds from the Council’s partner organisations, especially the national governing bodies. The aim is to create a ‘buzz’ around OSV that will draw in a variety of different organisations, who will create facilities on one site for a variety of different sporting, educational and leisure purposes, aimed at different groups of users. Without the Stadium, it is the Council’s view that the other partners would not commit the same degree of funding to the other aspects of the project development, potentially prejudicing the whole enterprise. Therefore, an option whereby City and the Bulls share Valley Parade for first team games and use OSV as a Training/Academy/Second Team base is not seen as a full alternative to current proposals.

It is not part of the plans that users will all share the same facilities within the Sports Village. The Bradford Bulls will not, for example, conduct their training at Odsal, which will be centred instead on the facilities developed at Tong School. Nor is it envisaged that existing amateur sports clubs in the Bradford District will relocate to the new complex. There will be a swimming pool to replace the facilities at the Richard Dunn centre, but not a full-size (50-metre) competition pool. Otherwise, the national governing bodies will be contributing to a range of facilities designed specifically to raise the participation levels in their particular sports, on a regional and national basis as well as locally in Bradford. This will help these bodies meet the objectives established by their own funding agencies, especially Sport England. The coherence of the OSV concept derives from the inter-relationships of the funding applications–the ‘synergy’ of a prestige development–rather than the interrelationships of the sporting activities themselves. This is why there is a danger of the whole project ‘unravelling’ if the new stadium is not built at Odsal, even if the stadium is not going to be used directly by any of the partner sports other than Rugby League.

Although Council officials have said in the past that the inclusion of Bradford City is essential to the viability of the OSV, the cash flows for the new stadium are being calculated on the basis that the Bulls alone will play there, with extra income derived from the use of the stadium as an entertainment and performance venue. It was acknowledged however that the Bantams’ participation would improve the economic prospects for the new stadium, and a separate calculation is being made for this eventuality, which is subject to discussions with Bradford City FC. Officials recognised that real concerns would exist for the Council’s social and economic objectives in the Manningham area if Bradford City were to leave Valley Parade in order to play at Odsal. Although the option of ground-sharing between the Bantams and the Bulls at Valley Parade is not being pursued within the current planning frame, this option remains very much ‘on the table’ for later consideration, perhaps in the event that funding for the new stadium at Odsal proves difficult to obtain.

On other issues, it was stated that the decisions on OSV are likely to be taken by the Council Executive without a debate at a full Council meeting. Information about the project, including financial details, will however be made available to the public under the usual arrangements for discussions in the Council Executive. A decision has also been taken that the ownership of any new stadium at Odsal will be vested in a not-for-profit legal entity with stakeholder representation, such as a Community Interest Company or similar legal vehicle.

‘I am very grateful to the senior Council officials who gave their time to meet City supporters’ representatives’ commented Trust Chair Alan Carling, ‘and I hope they will forgive me for saying that the information they were able to provide raised more questions than answers about the OSV project. Everyone understands that this is not a good time to put together an ambitious and complex development project. And there have been unforeseen circumstances, which have inevitably created delays in the original timetable. Although there is still a single project, it seems that different parts of it are now set to proceed at different speeds. It will be very interesting to see in February how all these various elements are being progressed, and what the sources of finance will be.’

‘We were surprised to learn that the Bulls will have to find their own funding for the new 18,000 seat stadium. It is not at all obvious how this can be made viable economically from the Bulls’ point of view if Bradford City are not involved, although we have been assured that the scheme is still viable without City taking part. There may be some income from concerts and other entertainment events, of course, but the Odsal venue will be facing competition on that front from the new Leeds Arena.

We were also surprised to hear that the Bulls will not be training at the new OSV. It seemed logical that the Bantams and the Bulls could share integrated training facilities at Odsal, but this idea does not seem to figure in the current plans. At the same time, we welcome the fact that the Council has decided on an ownership model for the new stadium similar to that proposed by the Trust.

Overall, the Council does not appear to be in a position to answer the big questions about the Odsal project. What are the real benefits of OSV to the sports’ communities in Bradford? Is Bradford City part of the project or not? Who is going to pay for it? Are the future finances sound? What happens to Manningham if City leave Valley Parade? The principle of a new multi-sports venue at Odsal has much to commend it. But political leaders are likely to face some tough questions in February about what they are trying to achieve with current plans, and whether public money is being spent in the best way to