There will be enormous relief around Bradford today at the news that the hugely ambitious plans to build a so-called "national superdome" at Odsal have at last fallen by the wayside.

The long-running saga of delays and extensions to the original planning consent have been a source of deep embarrassment to the city and its leaders for too many years.

Inevitably, there will be many people rubbing their hands and pronouncing "I told you so". When the scheme - easily the biggest and most expensive proposal for the site - was first chosen, it was felt by many to be too big and too ostentatious. But the city puffed out its chest and said "well, let's go for it anyway".

On that basis, this newspaper always supported the notion that the superdome would be a great boon for Bradford if it was ever built.

We take no pleasure in reporting its demise because, in essence, it means that the development of Odsal is now effectively back at square one. We know there is likely to be a sports stadium and we know there will be a good deal of out-of-town shopping nearby to pay for it.

But we don't know who will build it and we don't know when it will be built. It is good to see big names like Chelverton and Eddie Healey bidding for the chance - but either is likely to take another two years to make it happen.

Meanwhile, the shadow of uncertainty over Bradford Bulls remains and their desperate frustration goes on.

This time the Council must make sure that the completion date is set in stone.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.