Sandy Park

Sandy Park

The exterior of the stadium
Address Sandy Park Way, Exeter, Devon EX2 7NN, United Kingdom
Location Exeter, Devon, England
Coordinates 50°42′33.51″N 3°28′3.26″W / 50.7093083°N 3.4675722°W / 50.7093083; -3.4675722Coordinates: 50°42′33.51″N 3°28′3.26″W / 50.7093083°N 3.4675722°W / 50.7093083; -3.4675722
Owner Exeter Chiefs
Operator Exeter Chiefs
Capacity 12,500
Record attendance 12,642[1][2]
Exeter Chiefs v. Sale Sharks
(16 May 2015)
Surface Desso Grassmaster
Construction
Opened 1 September 2006 (2006-09-01)
Renovated 2012
Construction cost £15m[3]
Tenants
Exeter Chiefs (2006 - present)
Website
www.sandypark.co.uk

Sandy Park is a rugby union stadium and conference and banqueting centre in Exeter, England. It is the home ground of Exeter Chiefs, who from the 2010–11 season have been playing in the Aviva Premiership, the top flight of the English rugby union league system.[4] The club relocated there from their former stadium at the County Ground in 2006. The stadium can hold 12,500 spectators and is located adjacent to M5 junction 30, which is around 5 miles from Exeter City Centre.[5]

Sandy Park played host to the England Saxons vs Ireland Wolfhounds on 28 January 2012; the England Saxons won 23–17.[6]

Expansion

In the summer of 2012 the club announced a five-year plan to redevelop the ground to hold 20,600, which will be carried out in phases, starting with the existing west stand to provide a much larger bar area and extending the grandstand the full length of the pitch (in place of the existing temporary seating). The second phase (subject to finance) will involve building a large conference centre to the south and then extending the main grandstand around the corner and along the south end of the ground. The proposed stands behind each of the goal posts will be much larger than the existing main grandstand, but the proposed east stand will be similar in size to the main stand, due to its proximity adjacent the M5 motorway restricting its size.[7]

The first phase of the redevelopment (costing £10million) was carried out over the summer of 2014 and Sandy Park reopened in September that year with an increased capacity of 12,500, the capacity that the stadium will have when it hosts matches at the 2015 World Cup. The Conference & Banqueting facilities of Sandy Park were also increased, doubling the capacity for conferences and other events.[8]

International Rugby Union

Sandy Park was one of thirteen venues that hosted 2015 Rugby World Cup games.[9] The first two were Pool C matches involving Namibia. Their first was a 35 - 21 defeat to Tonga on 29 September, 2015 with 10,103 in attendance[10] and the other was a narrow 17 - 16 defeat to Georgia on 7 October, 2015 with 11,156 in attendance.[11] The third match was a Pool D encounter between Italy and Romania on 11 October, 2015. Italy won 32 - 22 with 11,450 in attendance.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Exeter Chiefs 44 Sale Sharks 16". Aviva Premiership. Premiership Rugby. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Kitson, Robert (16 May 2015). "Exeter agony as Sale are thumped but play-offs prove elusive". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 11 October 2015. Momentarily the numbers were looking more encouraging and the buoyant mood among the record 12,642 reflected it.
  3. ↑ "History - The home of rugby in Exeter and Devon". Exeterchiefs.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
  4. ↑ Archived 11 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ "Clubs : Exeter Chiefs". Premiership Rugby. 2010-08-17. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
  6. ↑ "England Saxons 23-17 Irish Wolfhounds". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "Club announce redevelopment plans". Thisisdevon. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
  8. ↑ "Bigger Sandy Park conference facility now open for business". Western Morning News. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "RWC 2015 Official Site". International Rugby Board. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  10. ↑ "Pool C, Sandy Park, Exeter". Rugby World Cup. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Pool C, Sandy Park, Exeter". Rugby World Cup. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Pool D, Sandy Park, Exeter". Rugby World Cup. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.

Sandy Park

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