Salford Red Devils Given Three-Year 'Payment Holiday' On £1.5M Loan From City Council

Salford, England, town hall execs gave "financially strapped" Super League rugby club Salford Red Devils a three-year break on repayments of a £1.5M ($1.9M) loan, according to Neal Keeling of the MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS. Councilors decided to grant the club further time after a previous two-year loan holiday ended. The council will "not reveal how much of the loan is outstanding" but insiders said that it is "substantial." The loan, paid through an independent administrator "after the previous club’s assets were seized to pay off creditors," is due to be paid back by '38 after a 25-year deal was "thrashed out" in '13. In Aug. '15, former Mayor Ian Stewart agreed to "allow the club to defer payments" on the loan for 17 months. In January, current Mayor Paul Dennett agreed to let the club "hold off on payments" until December. Now, he has agreed to a "further three-year freeze on payments" (MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS, 11/9).