Odsal Stadium, the home ground of Bradford Bulls, will be acquired by the Rugby Football League (RFL) after a deal was agreed to add the venue to the governing body's portfolio.

According to the RFL, the purchase aims to protect against recent "predatory approaches" and an arrangement is in place to allow the club to continue using the stadium as tenants.

The RFL said it had no immediate plans to create a new national stadium for rugby league at the site, despite a long-standing vision for the establishment of a 'Wembley of the North'.

Instead, the national governing body aims to focus on safeguarding the venue's future after proposals for a sporting village development were put on hold due to the downturn.

RFL chair Richard Lewis said: "This arrangement is absolutely the right thing to do because it safeguards the future of one of the sport's most famous stadia.

"We have paid market value for the stadium and the Bulls will pay market value rental to the RFL to play their home fixtures at Odsal."

Bradford Bulls chair Peter Hood added: "The sale to the RFL safeguards our immediate future and keeps all the options open once the economy recovers from recession."