Councillors have decided to advertise across Britain for tenders to carry out more than half a million pounds-worth of health and safety work at run-down Odsal Stadium.

Bradford Council faces the £666,000 bill because it is legally obliged to provide a stadium fit for its tenants - Bradford Bulls - to play in.

The authority is also tied to an agreement, with 17 years to run, in which it has to pay £300,000 a year to the world and Super League champions while the stadium is their home.

But the Council is negotiating with the Bulls over a financial settlement which could end the agreement. The settlement would compensate the club for the benefits it would lose. It would also give the Bulls capital which they could use to build a better home at Odsal or move to Valley Parade, the home of Bradford City Football Club.

But hopes that an agreement could be reached by the time the executive committee met yesterday were dashed. It left the committee with no alternative but to tender for the health and safety work which will enable the Bulls to return to Odsal for the Super League season next year.

Meanwhile, talks about a settlement will continue between senior Council officers and Bulls chairman Chris Caisley.

Developers Sterling Capitol pulled out of a planned £60 million stadium redevelopment scheme last month after the Government ordered a public inquiry.

The club has played as the guest of Bradford City for the last two seasons, expecting to return to a state-of-the-art stadium at Odsal next year. But the Council has withstood pressure to provide the Bulls with improvements including a hospitality suite, and will only agree to essential health and safety work.

Fans who attended the executive committee meeting said they are tired of being in limbo. Vicky Woodcock, web officer for the Bulls Independent Suppor-ters Association, said: "There are 10,000 supporters. It is very frustrating and we still don't know where we stand."

Councillor David Ward (Idle, Lib Dem) said at the meeting that public allegations which claimed the Council lacks commitment and has betrayed the Bulls are "totally unacceptable". The Bulls have received heavy financial support from the authority, he said.

The committee agreed Odsal residents should be kept in touch and receive letters about yesterday's decision.

Mr Caisley said after the meeting: "We remain focused on returning to Odsal. We have always thought it a shame that Odsal was not redeveloped, but we do not own the stadium. It has been out of our hands."

He said he is sorry for the fans and understands their frustration. The club will continue to talk to the Council, he pledged.