Nobody seems entirely sure what the Rugby Football League will gain from buying Odsal but the general consensus is that the Bulls have come up smelling of roses.

For a start, they have received a tidy sum from the game’s governing body for the lease on the stadium, helping to ease fears about their financial health. Secondly, the threat of predatory attacks has now ended.

There will now be no move to Valley Parade and the club’s home since 1934 will remain a rugby league venue for the foreseeable future.

But looking further ahead, could this deal be the catalyst to finally transform Odsal into the Wembley of the north, in a revamped stadium fit to host international matches?

The RFL have long since needed their own home ground; the Rugby Football Union have Twickenham and the Football Association have Wembley.

An RFL insider said there was “no short, medium or long-term plan to transform Odsal into an all-singing, all-dancing heart of rugby league”. But surely there has to be more to it than staving off predatory attacks?

Bulls chairman Peter Hood said: “If we take a fairly long-term view, first of all we’ve got to come out of the current recession and get confidence back.

“Then you could envisage a position where the local authority, the RFL and the club get together and start thinking about what might be possible.

“You ask Nigel Wood (RFL chief executive) that question and he’d probably give you the same answer.

“There are no plans in the immediate or short term – but how could there be, given the economic climate we are in?

“This is something the RFL wanted to do because it fits their longer-term plans as well as our plans.”

Watch this space but, for the time being, Hood believes little will change.

He said: “It’s going to be business as usual. My colleagues and I talk to the RFL every single day. We have an excellent working relationship with their staff at all kinds of levels, right from the top.”

Hood also insists there would no conflict of interest arising from the deal, the Bulls having been awarded a three-year Super League licence until 2014 with stadia a key part of the criteria.

He said: “The Super League licences are awarded on an entirely dispassionate and professional system of checks and balances and, where appropriate, with independent outside professionals coming in. I’m sure that is exactly what will continue.

“We are a Grade B licence now and we cannot be a Grade A because we don’t have sufficient seats under cover to meet that criteria as we speak.

“I would expect that in three years time we would maintain the Grade B status if the licence system doesn’t change.”

Bradford Council leader Ian Greenwood said that the authority had not benefited financially from the deal and that is was simply a matter of their permission being sought for the handover due to them being the freeholder.

He said: “It’s great news for Bradford Bulls, their supporters and for Bradford itself because the Bulls are an integral part of the infrastructure of Bradford.

“It means that rugby league will be played at Odsal for the foreseeable future. We hope that this will allow the club to put their financial worries behind them and look to rebuilding themselves as the best rugby league team in Britain.”

Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe added: “We have always said over the years that where the stadium is situated, because of the proximity to the motorways, means that it could be a great jewel.

“I am delighted that the RFL saw that positivity and now we need a discussion with them about the longer-term future.”