Bradford Bulls new stadium still on track, says Hood

Plans to redevelop Odsal were first approved in June 2009

Bradford Bulls chairman Peter Hood says that plans to develop their Odsal home remain on track, but that the £75.5m plan may need to be scaled back.

Bradford College, one of six partners involved in the development, have been hit by a funding freeze.

"One could be forgiven for thinking that the Odsal Sports Village is as dead as Monty Python's famous parrot, but that is not the case," said Hood.

Bradford Council's executive meet to discuss the plans on Tuesday.

The council, along with the University of Bradford, Yorkshire Forward, the Bradford & Airedale NHS Trust and the Bulls themselves are the other partners involved in the Odsal Sports Village plan.

Councillors gave their backing last June to the scheme that includes an 18,000-seater stadium, a community sports centre with a 25m pool, a 120-bed hotel and 80,000 sq ft for retail and parking.

"To be delivered in the form that provides everything to each of the partners, the OSV project needs private sector investment," added Hood.

"Half a dozen scaled-down versions might be built without the private sector, ranging in cost between £20m and £40m.

"That kind of money buys a lot of stadium and sports and leisure, educational and other facilities through which to deliver massive benefits for people right across the Bradford district."