Featured image credit: Bradford Bulls
Odsal Stadium, home of Championship rugby league club Bradford Bulls, has undergone a rebrand as part of a naming-rights deal with Bartercard, a business-to-business trade exchange.
The multi-year deal officially renames the venue as Bartercard Odsal Stadium. The deal has been signed as Odsal celebrates its 90th anniversary this year having opened in 1934.
Bartercard was an existing sponsor of the Bulls and the enhanced partnership has been agreed ahead of the start of the Championship season next week.
Ian Stafford, commercial manager for the Bulls, said: “We are absolutely delighted Bartercard have increased their sponsorship of the Bulls to hold the principal naming rights for our famous Odsal Stadium home.
“Heading into its 90th year since opening, the stadium still captures the imagination of many visitors and sponsors alike. The deal represents further evidence of the club’s progress on and off the field and I am excited to welcome all our visitors to the Bartercard Odsal Stadium.”
In October, the Bulls offered assurances over the team’s long-term future at Odsal after the Rugby Football League (RFL) announced it was seeking to sell off the lease to the venue.
The Bulls returned to Odsal in May 2021 after agreeing an initial 18-month occupancy deal to play at the venue. Bradford left Odsal in 2019 to groundshare with the Dewsbury Rams amid plans to develop a new home in the Yorkshire city.
Odsal is owned by Bradford Council but the RFL was forced to step in to assume the lease-hold interest in 2012 amid the financial troubles surrounding the Bulls. The RFL holds the lease on a 150-year term, with the deal agreed with the council on a peppercorn rent basis. The Bulls, along with the Odsal Motorsport organisation, currently hold rental deals with the RFL to use Odsal.
In January last year, the Bulls pledged to drive forward with plans to redevelop Odsal after failing to gain support from the Government’s Levelling Up scheme. Bradford Council had earlier spelled out plans to transform Odsal into the largest covered stadium in England as part of ongoing efforts to revitalise the venue.
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