ROSS Peltier believes Bulls moving out of the city is one of the club's lowest moments.

The Bradford-born prop admits he felt 'devastated' on learning that his home-town team are to leave their Odsal home and move to Dewsbury for the next two seasons.

Having grown up as a Bulls fan and then fulfilled his dream of playing for them, Peltier says leaving their historic base will hurt - and that it could be a 'hard road back' once they move out of the city.

Chairman Andrew Chalmers plans to bring the club back to Bradford as part of a new stadium development within two to four years - having ruled out the chance of a return to Odsal in the future.

Peltier told the T&A: "As a Bradford lad, I was raised on these terraces as a young kid. It was my dream to play for Bradford and I made that happen.

"To see the club move away from Bradford, it hurts. I was devastated when I saw the news.

"I’m Bradford to my core so to see the club move out of Bradford for no matter how long it is, I don’t know whether that is the best thing really, honestly.

"We can do nothing about it. The decision has been made. They want to move and so be it.

"Just hopefully after those two years, or however long it is, the club can return. That’s all I hope.

"After everything the club has been through, I think this is probably one of the lowest moments – moving out of Bradford. It’s just heartbreaking really."

Switching to Horsfall Stadium - home of Bradford (Park Avenue) - was the main alternative to Dewsbury which Bulls were considering.

Avenue owner Gareth Roberts expressed disappointment the groundshare offer was not taken up, calling it a 'sad day for Bradford' and even vowing to set up their own professional rugby league club in the city.

Peltier says he would have preferred Horsfall to Dewsbury's Tetley's Stadium just over ten miles down the road.

He said: "As long as the club stays in the city, that’s all I want and think that’s what many other people want. It’s hard leaving and once we leave I think it might be a hard road back."

Chalmers has insisted that moving to Horsfall and expanding the capacity to 5,000 would not be economically viable.

In his T&A column, he wrote: "The potential option of Horsfall Stadium was carefully considered but eliminated on the basis that the ground couldn’t safely and effectively accommodate our expected match attendances.

"It was simply too small. The ground in any case requires significant funds spent on it which made the potential to temporarily expand uneconomic.

"The ensuing safety and traffic issues, compounded with the complete lack of infrastructure (including toilet facilities) meant Horsfall Stadium was also not a viable option."

In an interview with League Express this week, Chalmers claimed moving to Horsfall would cost over £105,000 per year before additional operating costs and costs to increase the capacity.

He said: "The RFL advice was that Horsfall Stadium failed to meet the RFL's minimum standards. At the end of the day, you had a huge cost to be based in a smaller, ageing football stadium. A mini-Odsal in some ways."

Chalmers also re-iterated his belief that it is the end of the road for Bulls' historic home since 1934.

He told League Express: "Odsal needs a massive amount of capital to restore or redevelop the ground.

"Even mothballing the site will carry a hefty annual bill. It is inevitable in my opinion that sections of the stadium will be progressively closed by the Bradford Council as being unsafe - as soon as next year.

"As sad as this is, frankly the 'red card' is just around the corner for Odsal Stadium."