The clock is ticking on the Odsal saga.

And while the club are still waiting for official word from the powers-that-be before showing their hand, many fans are in no doubt where they stand.

The Supporters Trust have declared their opposition to a scheme which they have branded “Vanity Parade”.

And they have stressed that a move away from Valley Parade to the proposed Odsal Sporting Village super complex will have few benefits for the football club.

The Trust’s recent fans forum has put Odsal back on the agenda and chairman Alan Carling insists there is no time to waste.

The cash commitments for the project are expected to be finalised before the end of the year. Should the plans get the go-ahead, contracts with the developers could be signed as early as next summer.

Carling said: “It is understandable that the club wish to wait for the detailed figures before they make a commercial decision about moving to Odsal.

“I am worried nevertheless that if the situation is allowed to drift, conclusions will be reached that are not in the best interests of either City fans or council tax-payers in Bradford.

“And it may prove very difficult to change things for the better further down the line.

“There was a very strong feeling at our meeting that, after the experiences with Westfield and the Odeon, we are facing the possibility of a third ‘hole in the ground’ in central Bradford, after Valley Parade is knocked down.

“City supporters may have missed something important but it does not seem to make sense to demolish a perfectly good modern stadium with 25,000 seats in order to build a smaller one with 18,000 seats.

“I think that many City fans have been open to persuasion about the potential merits of a move to Odsal but the closer we have looked, the more it seems that the Odsal Stadium plans represent an extravagant and unnecessary undertaking by senior politicians.

“It is easy to see why the term ‘vanity project’ has been used by some of those who have studied the proposals.”

City will reserve judgement, publicly at least, until they have seen the figures from the council.

Joint-chairman Mark Lawn said: “The council have told us that things should be happening before Christmas. But as yet they haven’t got back to us. Bradford City’s stance is exactly the same as before. We’re going to look at everything before deciding which is best for us.

“We can’t make that decision until we get some fiscal figures and as yet they’ve not come back with what sort of rent we would have to pay.

“It’s a priority for us and the Bulls to find out what is happening. But maybe the council are doing other things as well.

“It’s a difficult situation and we all want to know where we stand. But it’s out of Bradford City’s control until we know from the council what sort of contract we’d have to sign if this goes ahead.”

Carling is adamant that the venture would make no sense from City’s point of view. The solution, in his thinking, is to bring the Bulls full time to Valley Parade with the council taking the stadium off the hands of the Gibb family pension fund.

Carling added: “As far as we know, the council has not even conducted a feasibility study on the obvious alternative, which is for the Bantams and the Bulls to share the existing stadium at Valley Parade. This could happen very quickly and easily, and much more cheaply.

“It is estimated that this alternative could save anywhere between £10m to £15m of the public monies already allocated to the Odsal Sports Village.

“City fans and Bradford tax-payers certainly deserve to know much more about what is being planned before agreeing to the controversial proposals for Odsal.

“As things stand, we prefer Valley Parade to Vanity Parade and council tax payers may well reach the same conclusion once they are presented with all the facts.”