Scarlets’ £2.6m loan extension bid goes to full Carmarthenshire council

Scarlets are due to discover in September if they have been granted a further 15-year extension by Carmarthenshire County Council (CCC) to repay a £2.6m loan taken out from the local authority in 2007.

The council’s cabinet has backed the proposal and if the full council also supports it and Scarlets repay it, the loan will have taken 31 years to repay.

Council cabinet members have sent the proposal for a decision by the full CCC council at their September meeting.

The west Wales rugby region was originally given the loan in 2007 as they prepared to move from Stradey Park to Parc y Scarlets.

The initial £2.4m loan was due for final payment in April 2023.

But amid ongoing financial issues, Scarlets wanted a three-year period in which no repayments would be made, followed by 12 more years in which the loan would be repaid.

CCC’s cabinet discussed the proposal, which would mean Scarlets’ new repayment plan starting in April 2026 and ending 12 years later, in 2038.

Officials advised councillors that Scarlets “are now midway through a restructuring of cost and have implemented a salary cap to reduce player costs, they are also seeking a two-year capital payment deferment from the Bank and Welsh Government loans”.

The officials added: “As part of this recovery plan they have also asked the County Council to restructure the outstanding loan, with a deferment of repayments for three years and they are seeking a re-consideration of the interest rate to a more manageable level.”

The land on which Scarlets’ stadium sits is owned by the authority, but the venue and surrounding land was leased to the club for 150 years.

Parc y Scarlets opened in November 2008, the stadium and related facilities cost £25.4m to build and £18.3m was provided in differing forms by Carmarthenshire council.