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Bradford City owner expresses desire to buy back Valley Parade

Written by Will Murray
Last Update: June 27, 2024
Published on

Bradford City owner Steffan Rupp has told supporters of the club that he is trying to buy back Valley Parade. The Bantams’ current lease on the stadium expires in 2028, but Rupp has expressed his desire to get the venue back under the club’s control.

Who owns Valley Parade?

Valley Parade has been owned by Gordon Gibb’s family pension fund since 2002. Gibb took over as chairman of the Bantams along with Julian Rhodes 22 years ago, after the club had entered administration. However, in January 2004, he resigned as chairman. Twenty years after his resignation, Flamingo Land Pension Scheme still own the stadium, which continues to be a frustrating issue for Bradford supporters.

‘I want to buy the stadium’ – Rupp clear on stadium plans

Simon Parker of the Telegraph & Argus spoke to the Bantams owner, Stefan Rupp, on June 25. When asked about the ownership of the stadium, Rupp said: “I can honestly say I want to buy the stadium.

“We have already started initial talks with the owner and we’ll see how that progresses over the next months.

“Valley Parade is the spiritual home of the Bantams and it’s also part of the future strategy that we have for the club itself to own it and be much more flexible in different areas.

“There is a strong intention to buy it and the funds are there. I think the owner is willing to sell it.

“I don’t want to get into much detail at the moment. The only thing I can say is that we’ve started initial talks.

“This will lead into much more detailed discussions in the next month and then we’ll see.

“If you look at other football clubs, most of them own their own stadium and training ground.

“For me it’s important that we are able to unite what has to be united. This is the next big project.”

Stadium ownership discussed in fans forum

Later on June 25, Bradford hosted a fans forum at the stadium, which saw 400 Bradford fans attend, along with manager Graham Alexander and head of football operations David Sharpe.

During the forum, Rupp was asked, “Is it a possibility that we are buying Valley Parade?” He replied: “This is one of my biggest wishes. We've started initial talks with the owner and see how things progress over the next month.

“It's a crucial part of our future strategy of the club. The club simply should own its spiritual home.

“It obviously would create much more flexibility for us. We are working quite intensively on that at the moment.”