Sandy Park was built in September 2006 primarily for rugby and is the current home of 2019/20 English Premiership champions Exeter Chiefs. The ground has a capacity of 13,593 and is regularly filled due to the Chiefs’ incredible home support and atmosphere.
Table of Contents
Stadium Guide by Rugby Tripper
History
Sandy Park has also staged international rugby matches following its inclusion as a host venue for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The ground held 2 Pool C matches and 1 Pool D match with Tonga vs Namibia, Georgia vs Namibia and Italy vs Romania all getting crowds of over 10,000 for each match. Sandy Park was the smallest stadium used in the tournament but was chosen as it’s a dedicated rugby union ground.
The Rugby World Cup wasn’t the only international match held at Sandy Park with England’s second national rugby team taking on Ireland’s second national rugby team in January 2012. The England Saxons beat the Irish Wolfhounds 23-17, however, this was the first and only time the side have played at Sandy Park.
In 2012, Exeter Chiefs announced plans to expand the capacity to 20,600 which would be done in small phases. The west stand is being renovated first with plans to improve the bar area along with increasing the capacity of the grandstand across the whole length of the pitch. This step of the expansion was completed in September 2014 ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup which cost roughly £10 million.
Chiefs bosses also want to build a large conference centre on the south side of the station along with extending the main grandstand to cover the corners and the south stand. Each of the stands will be a lot larger in size apart from the east stand which will be similarly sized to what it is currently due to it’s proximity to the motorway.