By Dave Woods BBC Sport

An American friend told me recently that he can tell how good an atmosphere can be generated in a sport's stadium by walking into the ground when no-one else is there.

"The great stadiums hum when they're empty," he reckons - and I think he's right.

So it is terrific news that Odsal Stadium could soon be returning to the list of great rugby league theatres, because the old showground certainly falls into that category.

Central Park: Another atmospheric venue

Many have cursed the place over the years for the way it opens up to the cruellest elements with a chilly micro-climate of its own when the game was played in the winter.

But there was never any doubting the character of the place.

Like a rechargeable battery, it had stored the emotions, the thrills and the disappointments of generations of supporters watching countless games in its terraces and stands.

And of course summer suited the old place fine.

Odsal took on a much cheerier face when the sun was out.

There is not much wrong with Valley Parade as a place to play sport, but Rugby League fans tend to be traditionalists, and Odsal was a tradition of its very own.

Knowsley Road, The Boulevard, Central Park and Fartown are, or were, similarly atmospheric grounds.

They hummed with a rugby league resonance.

But they are all going, going or gone forever.

And they are not always replaced by better arenas, even if the seats are comfier.

Lasting memories

Odsal, if it is to become a venue for the next generation, will have to undergo improvements.

But no matter how many face-lifts it undergoes, its vital organs will remain beneath to give it the old familiarity.

Look at Halton Stadium, Widnes.

It is almost unrecognisable as the old Naughton Park.

But because it has been rebuilt on its original site, enough remains to reassure us all that we have been there before, helping the memories remain as vivid as ever.

Hopefully the same will happen at Odsal.

There were times in the depths of winter, with fingers and toes numbed by cold, that I'd hoped never to set foot in that part of south Bradford again.

But if the Bulls and the local council can finally sort matters out between them, I'll be one of the first in the queue for the first match back at the old place.

In the meantime, we can still partially satisfy ourselves by stealing onto the old ground in its current dishevelled and abandoned state, and alone, feel the hum of a great stadium.