Odsal Stadium has missed out on staging World Cup games later this year because work on the proposed redevelopment of the stadium could be under way.

Organisers were keen to use the famous old stadium and capitalise on the Bulls superb support but the club could give no guarantees that it would be available for the tournament, which begins at the end of October.

Bulls spokesman Stuart Duffy said: "There are obviously some planning issues to resolve first but at this stage it is hoped that work will begin on the redevelopment as soon as Super League finishes.

"If the development does go ahead time will be very tight to finish it for the 2002 season and all concerned will want to press ahead as soon as possible.

"In those circumstances we could not guarantee the availability of the stadium."

Castleford would appear to be the beneficiaries having been named as one of the quarter-final venues along with Headingley, Watford and Widnes.

Tournament director Neil Tunnicliffe said the League had adopted the policy of last year's cricket World Cup organisers in taking the game to new audiences.

Many of the group games are being held in development areas like Dublin and South Wales, with the knockout stages being brought back to the game's heartland.

The decision to stage a match in the rugby union strongholds of Gloucester and Llanelli will be seen as further bold moves and organisers are hoping to set off a few fireworks with a November 5 double-header at the 78,000-capacity Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Bolton and Huddersfield will host the semi-finals with the final at Old Trafford on Saturday, November 25.

The tournament is launched on Saturday, October 28 with matches including England versus Australia at Twickenham.

In a joint broadcast deal, the BBC and BSkyB will show 16 live matches between them and further coverage is planned through regional television companies and the sale of overseas rights.

Organisers say tickets priced as low as £10 and £5 for concessions will be available for all matches, including the final, in an effort to make the tournament as accessible as possible and a 24-hour ticket hotline will start on Saturday.

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