Wembley Stadium

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Odsal's story begins in 1933, when Bradford City Council gave Bradford Northern the chance to transform a former quarry used as a landfill tip into their home ground. Ernest Call M.B.E., the Director of Cleansing, devised a system of controlled tipping that saw 140,000 cartloads of household waste deposited to form the characteristic banking. The ground was officially opened on 1 September 1934 by Sir Joseph Taylor, with Huddersfield beating the hosts 31–16 in front of an estimated 20,000. A stand costing £2,000, paid for by the RFL, held 1,500 on benches and tip-up seats. The clubhouse and dressing rooms were officially opened before a match against Hull F.C. on 2 February 1935. As late as August 1935, the banking on the Rooley Avenue side was still being created.

In Their Own Story

In 1945, under Bradford Northern director Harry Hornby and promoter Johnnie Hoskins, a sloping oval compacted dirt track was built around the rugby pitch for professional speedway. The initial team was known as the Odsal Boomerangs. Speedway proved hugely popular, with crowds over 20,000 regularly attending. The highest speedway attendance came on 5 July 1947, when 47,050 fans saw England defeat Australia 65–43 in a Test match—the largest-ever speedway crowd at Odsal. During the Second World War, the clubhouse's lower floor served as an Air Raid Precautions centre, and one dressing room was the map room. On 20 December 1947, 42,685 saw England's rugby league team beat New Zealand 25–9, the largest attendance for an international test at Odsal. The first floodlit rugby match in the North of England was held there in 1951.

Reader's Guide

For fans visiting Odsal, the stadium's history is visible in its banking, formed from 140,000 cartloads of household waste. The pitch was turfed thanks to a £900 fund. The stadium's highest attendance was 102,569 in 1954 for the Warrington-Halifax Challenge Cup Final replay. A domestic non-final record of 69,429 was set in 1953 for a third round Challenge Cup tie between Bradford Northern and Huddersfield. After the Bulls left in 2019 for a groundshare with Dewsbury Rams at Crown Flatt, they returned in 2021 as co-tenants with stock car promoters YorStox. The shale track was restored for BriSCA Formula 1 and Formula 2 stock car meetings, requiring removable pitch corners and narrowing the rugby pitch below minimum standards, though the RFL allowed the Bulls to return. On 30 August 2025, a small fire broke out in a hospitality area within the South Bank.

Did You Know?

• The stadium's banking was formed from 140,000 cartloads of household waste dumped in a former quarry.
• The highest attendance at Odsal was 102,569 in 1954 for the Warrington-Halifax Challenge Cup Final replay.
• On 5 July 1947, 47,050 fans saw England's speedway team defeat Australia 65–43, the largest speedway crowd at Odsal.
• During the Second World War, the clubhouse's lower floor was used as an Air Raid Precautions centre.
• The first floodlit rugby match in the North of England was held at Odsal in 1951.