A new £20 million hotel opens in Bradford today and is already half-full with bookings for Saturday night.

The Jurys Inn is due to be officially opened at noon with the Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Peter Hill and Bradford Bulls player Nick Scruton taking part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The 198-bed hotel on Thornton Road is part of the £50 million Southgate development, which is being built by McAleer and Rushe after a £6 million loan from Bradford Council.

Provident Financial is also due to relocate its headquarters to the development in the next few months.

The key site is close to the Alhambra and National Media Museum, and the hotel’s new general manager Roger Clark-Coates, said they hoped to gain a lot of business through linking up with the two art institutions.

He said: “We’re very excited to be welcoming the first guests to the hotel today.

“We have a great team on board and are very proud that most of them are local Bradford people.

“We hope the hotel becomes a great place, not only for visitors to Bradford but for local people to enjoy a meal or drink with their friends and family.”

In addition to having a number of pre-bookings for the weekend, Mr Clark-Coates said the Bradford hotel is the only new Jurys Inn to open this year and is the first to boast a gym.

There are also three meeting rooms, a refreshment lounge, as well as a separate bar and a restaurant. In addition free WiFi is available in all areas. A time capsule buried by Hanson School at the site to mark the occasion includes pictures the students have drawn themselves to represent what Bradford means to them.

The three-star hotel has also announced it will sponsor the Bradford Bulls as part of its community partnership programme.

As part of the deal, the hotel will provide the rugby league club with rooms for any VIPs attending home matches.

The Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Peter Hill said: “It is always a pleasure to open a new business that brings investment, jobs and visitors into the city centre.”

A total of 70 local people have been hired to work at the hotel.