There is bound to be a great deal of relief felt across Bradford that the deal to develop Odsal has been signed at last. It has been a long, sorry saga since the days when the hugely ambitious idea of a Superdome was first suggested and everyone became wildly excited as the city embarked on a long roller-coaster ride, with hopes dashed, raised and dashed again.

Small wonder that scepticism grew and that the Odsal dream was written off as so much pie in the sky by people who despaired of anything ever happening.

But now Bradford Bulls, Sterling Capitol and Bradford Council have finally signed the terms of agreement for a more realistic regeneration project which could see the Bulls playing in a state-of-the-art arena in less than three years. After so much prevarication over getting to the point of signing, it is good to see the project itself being provided with such a tight timetable.

The plan for the Bulls to shift to Valley Parade for two years, with the bulk of the work at the new stadium at Odsal being completed in a year and the whole job finished by 2003, suggests that once the project gets underway it will be undertaken with some urgency.

Everything now must be done to speed up the granting of planning permission and clean up the tip to ensure that the schedule is kept. Bradford cannot afford another fiasco involving rafts of delays and broken promises.

Now things have got so close to kick-off, local residents, Bulls fans and Odsal watchers alike will be keeping a close eye on developments to make sure the match finally goes ahead.