Bradford Bulls will have training facilities to match their status as a top Super League club thanks to their links with Woodhouse Grove School.

Chief Executive Abi Ekoku described the school's £4.5m sports and arts project 'an exciting development' and said: "It means we will be able to compete with some of our rivals."

Ekoku, head coach Brian Noble and some Bulls' players attended the launch of the project at the school yesterday along with Mark Saltmarsh, RFU Development Officer for Yorkshire, Dr Georgina Haslam, chairman of the project committee and headmaster David Humphreys.

Bulls players Mike Forshaw and Nathan McAvoy were also present along with former student Paul Sampson, who plays for Wasps and is a member of the England A squad.

The project will include a multi purpose sports hall, fitness centre and a floodlit all-weather pitch specially designed for rugby training which will also be used by the local community.

The school are awaiting planning permission from Leeds City Council, but they hope work will start by Christmas and the project will be completed early in 2003 which will coincide with the completion of the Bulls' new 30,000 capacity stadium at Odsal.

The planned timing could not be better for the Bulls and Ekoku said: "It means we will have a new stadium and new training facilities together."

Sharing in the project consolidates the links between the Bulls and the school.

Ekoku added: "We have used some of their facilities for a number of years and the school grounds border on the training ground at Apperley Bridge that we share with Bradford City and others in the community.

"We are looking for more specialist facilities and we are going to get them in conjunction with the school, the Rugby Football League and the RFU.

"We are going to be partners in the project that is specifically designed for rugby of both codes.

"Every club is always looking to improve different areas of its operation. We improve the quality of the players we bring to the club and another area we have been looking to improve is specialist training facilities.

"This development means we can start to compete with some of our rivals. Wigan have got good facilities at their new stadium and Leeds have consolidated their facilities. We are a little way behind our opponents as far as training is concerned."

Ekoku went on: "Ourselves and Bradford City have struggled to find good training facilities this winter because of the bad weather and we have been looking around the area for places to train. This will solve that problem.

"The great thing about a partnership is that no one party bears the total cost and, although the school are funding the project, other parties, including ourselves will buy into the facilities when we want to use them.

"It also makes sense to link in with the rugby union people. There are many similarities between the two games and the barriers came down a long time ago.

"Clubs of both codes are working very strongly together and we have a very good relationship with rugby union clubs in the area, mainly Bradford & Bingley and Otley."

It will be Bulls' training headquarters and head coach Brian Noble said: "It is going to be a wonderful facility. It will be nice to have training facilities in one place so we can prepare properly."