The Bradford Bulls have finally unveiled the £1m first phase of the redevelopment of their Odsal Stadium after more than a decade of attempts to find a developer.
The scheme is due to get underway next year.
Bradford council transferred the stadium to the Bradford Bulls on a 150-year lease two months ago after plans for a £60m redevelopment of Odsal and the surrounding site by Sterling Capitol and Tesco collapsed.
The developers blamed time delays resulting from a public inquiry into the proposed scheme.
In the late 1990s, plans to build a “superdome” on the site were abandoned after eight years of negotiations.
The first phase of the latest redevelopment plans, which have already been approved by Bradford council, will include a 400-seat restaurant, a bar, 19 hospitality boxes and a players’ lounge.
The two-storey building will be sited on part of an old speedway pit lane on the edge of the site and will incorporate a new stand at the south east side of the stadium.
The Bulls are now seeking a development partner for the second phase of the planned redevelopment, which will focus on the terraces opposite the main stand.
Bulls chairman Chris Caisley said: “This is a first and very significant step in our plans for the redevelopment of the world famous Odsal Stadium.
“We wanted to firstly put in place some corporate facilities in which to house our business partners and, secondly, to completely enclose the open end of the stadium, which has the added advantage of not inconveniencing Bulls’ supporters in the early part of the season whilst construction works are ongoing.”
The scheme has been designed by Watson Batty architects, whose Guy Taylor said: “Phase one of the redevelopment of Odsal is to construct a high impact, multipurpose building that will complement the carnival theme generated by the Bulls on game-days.
“The chosen location will use the existing site contours with a building that sits in an elevated position directly behind the posts.
“The 70m-wide two-storey structure will be floating in the air on four, 5m-high steel trees, giving unrivalled match views in a modern building designed to be the centrepiece of the Odsal redevelopment.”
EGi News 17/12/02
