The term of the Otago Rugby Football Union's $2 million loan
from the Dunedin City Council ran out yesterday, but the sale
of Carisbrook to the council appears to have taken care of
the debt.
An Official Information Act request from the Otago Daily
Times last year revealed the council had agreed to extend
the term of the loan on the same conditions until yesterday.
Council chief executive Jim Harland was tight-lipped about
the issue when asked, but said the future of the loan was
"tied up with the sale and purchase agreement" for
Carisbrook.
"I can't say any more than that," he said.
The settlement date for the sale was to have been today.
Asked whether the sale was complete, Mayor Peter Chin said
last night the agreement between the council and the ORFU had
gone to the council's solicitors last week, and he had not
seen the papers as yet.
The "theoretical handing over of the keys" might, therefore,
be later.
Last week, Mr Chin confirmed the council had, late last year,
agreed on a "ballpark" budget of $7 million to fund the
purchase of Carisbrook from the Otago Rugby Football Union, a
figure that had been included in the budget for long term
council community plan.
Yesterday, he said more details would be released once the
sale was finalised, but he would not speculate on what those
were.
