Bradford Bulls decision on Fridays at Odsal a business one

The move split opinion among the fanbase when it was announced last week, with many saying it would stop them buying season tickets and querying exactly who was consulted before the announcement was made.

Hirst has no intention of rowing back on the decision, but not out of stubbornness, as he instead explained why Bulls felt the plan needed to be risked.

Addressing the backlash, he told the T&A: “We knew the Friday evening and Sunday daytime split for next season’s home games would divide opinion.

“I’ve heard people call the move controversial, and I can understand that, even if we never set out to upset any of our loyal fans.

“We appreciate a Friday evening might not work for a Bulls fan who lives in Southampton for example, but equally, Sunday afternoons don’t work for a lot of people either.

“We didn’t take this decision lightly, and we knew it wouldn’t be universally popular, but like every decision we make at this club, it’s been done with the Bulls’ best interests at hearts.”

This marquee Sunday afternoon game against Featherstone in August would have been played on a Friday night if it were in 2025. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Discussing the process, Hirst said: “We had a fans’ survey, I can’t remember the exact date, at some point over the last 12 months, where we asked people’s opinions on a range of topics, including kick-off times and days.

“I appreciate you won’t have got that if you’re not a season ticket holder, or if you are but haven’t updated your email address with the club.

“A significant number of people received that survey but not everybody who did responded, which is the individual’s prerogative.

“That survey among season ticket holders included a question around when supporters would like to see us play, but we also drew on feedback from a show of hands on the topic at a fans’ forum earlier this year.

“That wasn’t the deciding factor, but we’ve used different methods to get feedback.

“For example, I also respond to handwritten letters regularly about a whole range of topics, including Friday night matches.

“We’re a part-time club and you’re sat here with me at Odsal now, you can see we’re not awash with staff.

“We’ve done our absolute best to reach out to as many people as we could and a significant amount of those wanted us to revert to Friday night matches.”

Hirst admitted there was a degree of necessity when it came to making the decision, saying: “Rugby league in this country, going back to when I started watching it in the mid-1970s, has traditionally been at 3pm on a Sunday, and human beings are creatures of habit.

“Equally, in our time in Super League, we played a lot on Friday nights, which proved very popular.

“What we needed to do as a club was look at our current attendances, and we’re only averaging 3,000 per match.

“If we could get that up to an average of 4,000, that’s a quarter of a million pounds per year of additional profit coming into this club.

“That would be reinvested into the playing staff, coaching staff and facilities, three things that, if we improve them, will make this club stronger and will bring it more success.

“We had to look at different ways to increase our crowds, and we could have just said we were going to Friday nights for the whole of next season.

“That was considered, but we didn’t make that decision, so we’ve gone with that hybrid where approximately half of our home games will be on Fridays and the rest on Sundays.

“We ask anybody who can get to games on Fridays and Sundays to please come to both, rather than voting with your feet for one or the other.

“If you do that, ultimately all it does is harm the club in lost revenue.

“Please get to as many games as you can and then we will use the attendance figures, the feedback and the amount of money we take behind the bar and on food into account.

“We’ll take that information on board, collate it, study it and we’ll decide what’s best for the club moving forward after next year.

“The Dewsbury game at Odsal we had on a Friday night this August had a very healthy attendance, and we took a lot more money than usual on catering.

Ebon Scurr causing Dewsbury problems during Bulls' 54-0 win over the Rams on a Friday night at Odsal two months ago. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

“And ultimately we are a business, which needs money to survive and prosper.

“As I said, we traditionally played on Friday nights in Super League, which is where we want to be.

“We will get there, there’s a high probability we’ll be playing at all sorts of different times during the week.”

Hirst understands the human side of the decision though, as well as the business perspective.

He said: “I appreciate it’s an emotive topic, and we will look at fixtures closer to the start of the season, to see if we can find any flexibility around season ticket purchases, for people who can only make one day and not the other.

“I’m just asking people to give it a chance because sometimes, it’s the thought of change that scares people.

“Human beings typically don’t like change, but if we didn’t embrace it, we’d still all be watching three channels on a black and white television.

“My personal preference is to keep games on Sunday afternoons at three o’clock because I’m a traditionalist.

“But this isn’t about individuals, it’s about the collective and the most important thing is the club.

“It’s about the club bringing in extra revenue to make it even stronger to get back to where we want to be.

“For anyone who’s upset because they can’t make matches on a Friday, I sincerely apologise.

“But for everyone who’s upset, there’ll be someone who’s pleased, who’ll tell me they can now come to matches, which they couldn’t do on a Sunday afternoon.”

The announcement that summer games at Odsal would be played on Friday nights in 2025 came just after season tickets were launched, but Hirst and his team made sure not to leave anyone high and dry.

Many of those who attend Bulls games are season ticket holders, but some may not be able to attend now that summer home games have been switched to Friday nights. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

He revealed: “What happened is that the season tickets were released on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday morning, I instructed my team to ring all 17 people who’d already bought one before the Friday/Sunday announcement.

“We apologised to all of them and offered them a chance of a refund if they could no longer make it.

“Not all of them picked the phone up, but of those who did, the vast majority said the fact summer games were being moved to a Friday night was something that appealed to them.

“Those are the facts of the matter and it means we haven’t sold anyone a ticket under false pretences.”