As grounds throughout Super League welcomed a record number of spectators last week, the Bulls were left wondering where all theirs had gone.

Just 6,382 made their way through the Grattan Stadium turnstiles for the clash with Salford – a new Super League low for the famous ground – on the same weekend Bradford’s parent competition celebrated the highest aggregate attendance for any single round in its history.

Never before had the club’s decline in support been put in such stark contrast.

An alarming trend has seen average home attendances dip to 8,729 in the league this year – compared to the 13,000-plus who regularly streamed into the ground during the last decade’s glory years.

Performances on the pitch have undoubtedly been the main factor, especially when coupled with a severe economic downturn. Trophyless since 2006, the past two years have been the Bulls’ worst for some time in terms of results, proving particularly hard to stomach for a fan base that had become used to the regular victory parades.

The downturn has not spread panic at Odsal, although chief executive Ryan Duckett has warned a competitive team will not be sustainable unless crowds improve.

“It’s an issue for the club and something the staff and board are concerned about because we want to be competitive,” he said.

“In the past, 10,000 has been mentioned as a break-even point and although that’s not the case, to be competitive and to spend the full salary cap, that’s what we need to be aiming for. If we want to compete long-term, it’s not sustainable on consistently poor crowds.

“We’ve not spent the full salary cap this season for the first time but we’re all working hard to rectify performances to allow us to do it properly and build a competitive squad.”

Duckett admits the club have failed to reach budget on several occasions this season and the onus is on both the club and the fans to ensure matters improve.

The Bulls are faced with a Catch-22 situation where faltering performances result in lower crowds, yet bums on seats are essential in providing the funds needed to address the on-field struggles.

Pro-active marketing by the club, especially in restoring a visible presence around the city, is needed but supporters too must put recent disillusionment to one side and provide their backing if new coach Mick Potter’s reign is to be a success.

Duckett said: “We have got a loyal fanbase who follow us home and away no matter what but there is also a large section who have decided to stay away recently.

“I’ll be the first to admit we are disappointed but we want to have an open communication about where we’re at and that was one of the reasons for organising another fans’ forum.

“We’re positive about turning things round but we need fans to get on board with us and support our plans for the future.

“Within the next few months we will be assessing budgets for 2011, so what happens for the remainder of this year will determine the spend.”

The club have begun taking steps to address the slide and are launching a three-pronged attack ahead of 2011 by carrying out extensive market research on the game-day experience, reviewing season-ticket prices and revamping the club’s community department.

Duckett said: “Our game-day package is as good as anyone else in Super League and we’ve won awards for it. But we are not necessarily competing with other clubs, rather we’re competing against other leisure outlets.

“We are assessing all aspects of game days and looking to do some market research to find out what the spectators think of the experience, the cost of food and merchandise, where we can improve – all aspects. We’ve also invested in our biggest-ever community department.

“It’s a long-term thing – like the youth development side of the football side, you won’t see the benefits instantly – but we’re confident it will soon start to reap rewards by engaging with schools and amateur clubs.”