ASK THE BULLS - MORE QUESTIONS ANSWERED!

THE latest round of questions submitted to 'Ask The Bulls' have been answered - here is a round up of what you have been wanting to know...

(As of 25/02/20)

Q: Hi Bulls Family, I wrote last week regarding parking issues which I am glad to say in my case was Resolved,

I also touched on the subject of away support been allocated the open terrace behind the goals and I think after Sundays game there is a valid point to be made for this to be arranged As the same sort of problems will happen again in future games.

Also when tickets are sold to away supporters for the North Stand why are they sitting in season ticket holders seats there was a great deal of problems in block E with Rovers fans taking the above mentioned seats with many arguments taking place and people refusing to move and no stewards at hand to sort it out. If you look on line it is plane to see that the majority of seats are already taken up by season tickets holders its ridiculous when you arrive to the game and you have to start ejecting away fans out of your seat before you can sit down. It is Simple just sell then a numbered seat that is not already taken and tell the purchaser to sit there.

Regards 

A: We are pleased to hear your issues were resolved. We do take feedback on board and have worked hard to iron out any issues regarding our supporters’ matchday experiences.

We constantly review our matchday operations and if we anticipate there will be a big crowd in need of segregation, we will of course enforce whatever safety procedures we think are necessary.

The problems occurred when supporters were paying an upgrade to sit down on the day and they were meant to be in Block A which holds a number of unreserved seats. There was some breakdown in communication that resulted in those supporters sitting in other blocks which then caused issues with Season Ticket holders. We have again reviewed this issue and are confident this will not happen again but we apologise for it occurring on the day,

Many Thanks

The Bulls

Q: Hey, 

On match day can the bar open at 12 instead of 1? 

We travel from Morecambe and with the long distance the bar open at 12 would be more suitable, I was chatting to the person who ran the bar and she didn't have a problem with this?

I look forward to your response 

A: Thanks for your email.

We are constantly reviewing our matchday operations but, as per the security regulations, we are not allowed to permit entry to any supporter before 1pm. However, we massively appreciate your support and if you do happen to arrive before 1pm on any occasion we will do our best to accommodate you. 

There is a pub just up the road called The Royal Oak which is just a five minute walk from the stadium if this helps.

We look forward to seeing you at the Tetley’s Stadium soon.

Many Thanks

The Bulls 

Q: We had fully expected our 2020 Replica Shirts would be available for the start of the new season. Due to unforeseen circumstances, there has been a delay in the release of our 2020 Replica Kit.

Our suppliers have now informed us they are working to deliver the shirts as soon as possible.

We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this has caused and thank you for your patience. 

But you have not said exactly why? Do we owe them money or what?

As this is a real money maker how can the club be so unorganised to believe this is not important, just look at the number of shirts sold (good common sense says prior to Christmas for obvious reasons) by Superleague and Championship sides!! Come on tell us the truth and who is in charge of this oversight because they have cost the club hundreds or maybe thousands of pounds - please explain fully and if any action has been taken against the supplier or the person responsible within the club. 

A: Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. To try to answer your questions, we have asked our suppliers for a full statement on the matter to be able to forward onto you... Unfortunately, at this time, they have failed to meet our repeated requests. 

Many Thanks

The Bulls

Q: Can I ask why there is no food & drink facilities on the A & B side of the stand, during play as access to the far side is block, everyone on that side have no access to food & drink until half time. Also why is there no access to the bar during the match like the standing crowd (bar beneath the roofed terrace) as not everyone likes bottled beer/lager.

A: Thanks for your email, 

There is access to the far side via the steps and walking through the main stand itself however we appreciate that this is an inconvenience. Bar Access is not permitted during the game due to its proximity with the tunnel/changing room area for players and officials. If there is possibility for alternative food/drink outlets to be placed at the A & B side of the stand we will of course look into it.

Many Thanks

The Bulls

Q: I, on behalf of many Bulls fans I attend games with, would like to ask based on the facts given below whether, given present day knowledge and facts etc, the new club owners would agree that leaving Odsal may have been both foolhardy? Worse still may the decision to leave Odsal have been a bad or wrong financial and strategic decision for the club, a decision you (the new owner) could have reversed on or around October last year, i.e. shortly after you took over the reigns from Andrew Chalmers?

After 2 homes games now, and having consulted with many fellow fans, the above must be a question that supporters want answering.

Crowd average after 2 home games, one local team (Fev), and one poorly supported team (Broncos) - so good range - is 3,140 compared with the average crowd for the 2019 season of 4,340 leaving a deficit of 1,200 x say 16 homes games (allowing for income from the friendlies and possible cup matches) @ £20.00 per average match day gate price will amount to a total projected lost revenue for the 2020 season of £384,000. I know cup game revenues are shared, but I have been quite conservative with my figures. 

We are then paying Dewsbury £2,500 per game x 16 which gives another £40,000 added to the above figure, to give an overall sub-total of say £425K.

Add to that figure any loss of revenue for corporate food/drink concessions and ground food/drink concessions (not sure whether we split with Dewsbury 50/50?) and add on car parking figures all x 16 games plus any other revenue which has been lost or we have to split (again have no knowledge of these figures but an educated guess would say the amount would amount to a substantial sum) then the figure 'lost' from leaving Odsal may well likely exceed £450K for the 2020 season. 

So I ask the club owners whether the projected 2020 season cost saving of £400K to leave Odsal, as reported in the Observer/ Guardian on 17 August 2019 (see article below), was wrong, or very wrong? - and please do not try to blame the old regime for this, as BBBBB Ltd took over the running of the club well before the start of the 2020 season, and I understand even before pre-season training started. 

https://www.theguardian.com/sp... 

Facts seems to suggest it would have been more affordable, and indeed we would have saved a good deal of undue concern to many true Bradford Bulls supporters, if for the 2020 season we had stayed put in our historic home.

We also now have the BBBB campaign which I presume costs money to organise/run plus time spent (again no knowledge of this cost). I know that Nigel Wood or somebody has been madly chasing businesses in Bradford to stump up money for the BBBB campaign.

The question most supporters would ask is WHY?, when it would appear from published figures and a bit of simple maths that we could have stayed at Odsal and retained average crowds of 4,340, or even improved this figure, therefore bringing in more revenue.

And don’t even get us going on the disgrace that is the club shirts not even being in the club shop prior to Christmas – can you tell us who should be held responsible for this – thousands of pounds in lost revenue again adding to the above figures, or losses?

The above are questions that the supporters of Bradford Bulls truly deserve to have answered here and now AND answered in an honest and detailed way, with figures to accompany the facts.

A: Thank you for your enquiry.

The clubs current owners played no part in the decision to vacate Odsal and have been pretty clear that their highest priority is a return to Bradford. And similarly, the current owners have made no comment about estimates as to the costs of playing at Odsal or other figures reported last year. So it is not a case of blaming previous management, we simply do not have that information; They did... and they made the decision. 

Furthermore, the club was not in a position to simply reverse the decision taken by the previous ownership/management for a number of reasons. Immediately after the end of the season, the site was cleared of fixtures, fittings, essential equipment and IT. Much was given away and some stored in containers. This doesn’t take into consideration the dilapidations that the stadium was suffering from which needed attention to comply with safety requirements. Also, undoubtedly,  the costs of playing at Odsal and the relationship with the RFL would have to be renegotiated. For all these reasons and also because the new board fundamentally believe in honouring commitments made by the club, as I hope we have demonstrated,  there wasn’t a real option other than to play at least a season at Dewsbury.

Paul, the simple truth is the ownership are completely vested in trying to make the club as successful as it can be. Quite simply if the club doesn’t make its budget, it is the owners who are the ones who have to put their hands in their pockets. So I hope you can recognise that the owners are completely and totally aligned to the need to trade as profitably as possible. Therefore you can rely upon them to make rationale financial decisions. 

In the same vein , the replica shirt situation is totally unacceptable. It has and is costing the club money. The supply failure is not of the clubs making, we have relied upon representations and undertakings given to us, which have been false. We apologise that we have relied, in good faith, on the information provided by the supplier.

The BBBB campaign is a sincere attempt by the club to re-engage with the corporate market. It would be fair to say that the club has slipped a long way behind others in its commercial operation over the years. Presumably, you would expect club management to be attempting to recover this situation for the benefit of the club and its spending potential for players?

While we are not prepared to publish confidential financial information, if you would like meet with any club director or manager to discuss things further please let us know and we will be happy to arrange.

Many Thanks

The Bulls

Q: I have cancelled my standing order for the above for the following reasons; 1. Ownership by Nigel Wood. Do not trust or want him at this club, horrible blood sucking man. 2. The lies coming from the club with regard to missing replica kit. 3. Lies coming from the club with regard to back peddling on the arrangements with Dudley Hill RLFC. I remember the days when this club worked hard with grass roots rugby. 4. Failure to communicate to lottery contributors that the money is now shared between other clubs as well as the bulls. In summary, I am having nothing more to do with this club until the day Wood, Sawyer and the other deceitful staffers are gone and there is transparency, honesty and integrity shown by management/owners. Whoever that might be.

A: Thanks for your email.

1. We are sorry you feel that way about one of our Shareholders but you are, of course, entitled to your opinion.

2. The club has not lied at any stage, we have only communicated the information we have had in regards to the replica kit. We had originally hoped there was a chance they might be here around Christmas time, hence the pre-order process. The supplier then told us they would be here by mid-January. We were then informed, late in the process, that there was an issue in production that resulted in a delay from our suppliers and as things stand we have been told the shirts will be arriving tomorrow (Wednesday 26^th February). 

We have asked Kappa for a full statement on the issue for us to publish, but as yet they have failed to meet our request.

We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused to everybody, but we have been completely honest throughout the process.

3. The club has not lied or back peddled on any arrangements – There were concerns regarding the potential impact on the pitch given the number of squads we have. Our team coaches were not convinced they could send their Reserve players without a risk of injury. There were also problems with negotiations between both parties, in that Dudley Hill were looking to charge our Season Ticket holders a higher admission price than we thought was fair. 

We look forward to continuing to work with Dudley Hill as one of our Community Clubs and we have introduced a number of initiatives designed to bring us closer to those in and around the community.

4. All members of ‘The Big One’ lottery were sent a letter by post that detailed the new changes. If you did not receive this, or would like further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Many Thanks

The Bulls

Q:    Hi

Most of the Academy players are still listed on the website as being 50 years old. It was mildly amusing at first, but it’s getting a little embarrassing now.

It’s been like this for a while so plainly it’s a major problem. Is there any chance of an update on what the issue is please and is there any chance of it being resolved in the near future?

Regards

A: We have updated the profiles so this issue should have been resolved, 

Many Thanks

The Bulls

(As Of 03/03/20)

Q: Dear Sirs

Thank you for your prompt email reply, I have 2 further questions and observations if I may:

1.    I trust you will publish my question and your answer (as well as this follow up message) on your next Ask the Bulls website post, and

2.    In response to your first paragraph, having attended a lot of functions and some pre-match dinners in the South Bank stand, I find it hard to believe that for example Mr Wood did not know any costs of staying at Odsal. As I observed at these functions and in general at games home and away Mr Wood appeared to be very close to Mr Chalmers, and maybe did actually know some, if not all, of the costs associated with staying at Odsal? Also Mr Wood was, and still is close to the RFL, who I presume as the head lessee for Odsal would and will have liaised with the new owners regarding such costs etc. Again I am just a Northern/Bulls supporter who after reflecting on crowds so far at Dewsbury cannot grasp the need for us to have ever contemplated leaving, or having actually left Odsal. It would appear that the directors had ample time and opportunity to have reversed the decision to leave Odsal before it was too late.

Many thanks

1. Yes, of course

2. We have provided a full and accurate response to the questions you asked, and with great respect it is a matter for you whether you accept it. But to repeat, in summary, no one currently involved or invested in the Bulls played any part, whatsoever,  in the decision to move out of Odsal, nor was it possible to reverse that position in the circumstances or time available. The current Board and owners are themselves simply supporters, like yourself, and want nothing more than to see a sustainable club playing in the city, for everyone’s benefit, including their own!

The offer remains for you to meet with a director or management at the club should you so wish

Thanks