Bradford City have been linked with new ownership in the past couple of days, with The Athletic’s Matt Slater stating that the Bantams are for currently for sale. According to the outlet, current Bradford City owner Stefan Rupp has been sending PowerPoint decks out to potential buyers.
Meanwhile, the article continues to explain: “The sales pitch is pretty simple.
Slater goes on to add that Bradford City owner Rupp is wanting at least £10,000,000 for the club as he looks to write off the £5,400,000 that he has lent the club during his reign.
However, after speaking to the journalist, the £10,000,000 figure was underestimated following feedback after the article was released. Rupp’s asking price is well over the eight figure sum which explains why no one has bought the club as of yet.
The high valuation could be explained by the fact that many League One clubs have recently had their heads turned by deals involving both Wrexham and Ipswich Town, with owners across the league now believing their clubs are worth tens of millions of pounds.
Whilst Bradford City have spent a large majority of the last decade in the EFL’s basement division, their attendances and fanbase have remained consistent.
Last season, the Bantams had an average attendance of 17,877 as Graham Alexander’s side went onto secure promotion to England’s third tier.
This season, City have seen an average attendance of 20,545 including a mid-week record attendance against Stockport County as 22,488 fans packed into the University of Bradford Stadium.
Finally, looking at next season, the club have confirmed that 5,046 supporters bought season tickets for next campaign within the first 24 hours of them being on sale.
With these figures in mind, it is clear to see how Bradford’s fanbase can make them an attractive footballing outfit for purchasing.
Away from fanbase size, the city of Bradford was recently the City of Culture for 2025 which generated a large amount of attention on the club as they partnered with the City of Culture brand to promote the club and events going on.
As well as this, Bradford City have major commercial deals with brands such as Morrisons, SBK, and, most recently, American technology firm Mbanq.
These commercial deals and opportunities for exposure have given the club a good foundation, making them potentially more attractive for a purchase should any buyer come in with a suitable bid.
Bradford City currently does not own its own training ground with the first-team training at Woodhouse Grove private school in the local area.
Meanwhile, with the Gordon Gibb Pension Fund owning the lease for the University of Bradford Stadium currently, the club also does not own the stadium and have to pay rent to Gibb on a yearly basis.
These two factors mean that a prospective owner would have to buy the stadium and training ground separately, purchases that could cost millions of pounds collectively.
The club had been at the centre of an attempted takeover attempt by WAGMI United LLC to become the Bradford City owner, which was rejected by Rupp in 2021.
Whilst this was rejected, should a bidder come in with a suitable bid, the prospect of a bid could become even more possible.
