BRADFORD Bulls appear to have split the fanbase after making a major decision over their games at Odsal next season.

In an announcement on social media yesterday, the club confirmed that all home fixtures during the summer months will be played on Friday nights, with winter matches remaining in their traditional time slot of 3pm on a Sunday afternoon.

They said they had made the decision after acting upon feedback from the supporters, and plenty of fans are broadly supportive of the plans.

But there has also been a slew of negative comments in opposition to the decision on social media.

Many have said it will stop them buying season tickets, as they cannot logistically make Friday night matches, while others have complained they will not be able to bring their children along due to those summer fixtures potentially not finishing until 9:30/10pm.

Others have complained on behalf of the Bulls players, who largely have full-time, labour-intensive jobs from Monday to Friday, though the club will have undoubtedly consulted the squad before making this decision.

In terms of consultation, many of those against the plans have questioned who exactly was asked about this schedule change, but Bradford have released surveys and held fans’ forums where this kind of matter has been raised.

By way of comparison, Bulls only had one Friday night game this summer, with 3,006 fans attending the 54-0 win over Dewsbury Rams on August 30.

But comparing that to other given attendances on Sundays this summer at Odsal, 3,099 came to the home fixture against Featherstone two weeks earlier, while 3,203 witnessed the mid-July clash against Wakefield.

Perhaps even more tellingly, there were still 2,909 in attendance at Odsal for a ‘less marquee’ clash with Doncaster on June 23.

A similar number of fans attended Bulls' home win over Doncaster on a Sunday afternoon in June to their Friday night clash against Dewsbury two months later. A similar number of fans attended Bulls' home win over Doncaster on a Sunday afternoon in June to their Friday night clash against Dewsbury two months later. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Based on those figures, it seems there is no obvious benefit, in terms of crowd numbers, to moving summer games at Odsal from Sunday afternoon to Friday night.

But Bulls have deemed it to be a worthwhile experiment for 2025, and it may pay off with it being done over a sustained period, as opposed to a one-off Friday night game.

Sensibly, Bradford have announced this news long before the 2025 fixtures are released, so will have time to reconsider or push on with this decision, depending on how the next few weeks play out, in terms of feedback and season ticket sales.