Sandy Park (Exeter)

Sandy Park is a rugby union stadium and conference and banqueting centre in Exeter, England. It is the home ground of Exeter Chiefs, who in the 2010–11 season started playing in the Gallagher Premiership, the top flight of the English rugby union league system. The club relocated there from their former stadium at the County Ground in 2006. The stadium can hold 12,800 spectators and is located adjacent to M5 junction 30, which is around 5 miles from Exeter City Centre.

General information

Official website: www.sandypark.co.uk

Arena capacity: 13,652 spectators

Address: Sandy Park Way, Exeter, Devon EX2 7NN, United Kingdom

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 50°42′34″N 3°28′3″W

Year of construction: 2006

Construction cost: £15 million

Field: Desso Grassmaster lawn with dimensions of 92 x 70 m

Seating plan of Sandy Park

The ground is dominated by the West grandstand that sits along one side of the pitch. Directly opposite the Grandstand is the East Terrace, a small covered standing section divided into two sections (North and South). At one end of the pitch is the North Terrace which also offers covered standing, whilst the South West Communications stand at the other end is home to around 2,000 covered seats. There are two large screens within the stadium.

Where to buy tickets?

Exeter Chiefs has online booking for all home matches, parking, dining and special events at Sandy Park. If you are looking for away match tickets, go to their fixtures page, which has links to all available matches.

How to get there?

Sandy Park is conveniently located just off Junction 30 of the M5, meaning travel to them from Devon and beyond is extremely straightforward.

It is also 10 minutes away from Exeter Airport, on a main cycle route, served by both Digby and Sowton and Newcourt railway stations and within easy reach of Exeter City Centre.

Visiting By Car

On match days vehicles are only allowed up to the ground to pick-up and drop-off. There is a drop-off point at the stadium complex from the A379 for taxis and those being transported by friends and relatives before kick-off to matches, however there is no vehicular access (apart from approved buses) onto the Sandy Park site for one hour following the final whistle. It should also be noted that the club discourages supporters to drop-off or pick-up on the slip road leading into Sandy Park and in particular on the main A379 road below as it is illegal and dangerous to do so.

If you need to drive, the club offers a park and ride service to Westpoint arena, tickets for which can be purchased from the clubs online ticket service. You can also park at the nearby Blueball Pub (5-minute walk) or at the Digby Park and Ride on the edge of the Digby trading estate located next to Digby Railway station (10-minute walk). Also it is possible to park on the Sowton Trading estate on Apple Lane (EX2 5GL), around a 5 minute walk to the ground. Walking to the ground does involve having to pass over a fairly bouncy bridge, travelers to the ground who suffer from a fear of such things might want to avoid walking/rail!

*Note: There is controlled residents-only parking on all roads near to the stadium, including Clyst Heath and Rydon Lane. Anyone caught parking in these areas without the appropriate pass will receive a parking ticket.

Visiting By Rail

Digby & Sowton Station is a 5-10 minute walk from Sandy Park with trains running on a regular basis back to Exeter St Davids, one of the two principal stations in the city (Exeter Central is the other). This is a popular method of transport so if you let the train take the strain just follow the crowds to Sandy Park.

There are two main railway lines between Exeter and London – the faster of the two operates from London Paddington via Reading, Newbury and Taunton in around 2h30mins, arriving at Exeter St Davids. A slower service runs from London Waterloo, taking around 3h20mins and calls at a multitude of stops including Woking, Basingstoke, Yeovil and Axminster before arriving at Exeter Central. CrossCountry trains operate direct trains to Exeter from a wide range of destinations in the UK, including Bristol, Birmingham, Sheffield, York and Leeds.

You can book tickets for UK rail services in advance at thetrainline.com, and save money compared to booking on the day.

Visiting By Bus

The No 77 (run by Dartline Coaches) starts in Alphington at Chantry Meadows and picks up at Cowick Lane, Cowick Street (First & Last), Fore Street (BHS), Topsham Road (County Hall) to Sandy Park. Buses run every 20 minutes.

The No 78 (also run by Dartline) starts at Exeter St Davids Station and picks up at the following destinatons en route to Sandy Park: City Centre, Blackboy Road, Pinhoe Road, Sainsburys Pinhoe, Monkerton Link Road and Sowton Industrial Estate before arriving at Sandy Park.

The C bus (run by Stagecoach) starts at Exeter St Davids Station and picks up at Exeter Bus Station, Heavitree (Co-Op) en route to Sandy Park and will run every 15 minutes. Stagecoach offer an Exeter dayrider ticket which allows unlimited travel on all of their city buses.

Visiting By Bicycle

Sandy Park is on a main cycle route and can be easily reached from all directions. There are cycle racks on site where you can leave your bike.

Visit www.cycledevon.info for more information.

Alternatively, you can hire a Co Bike electric bike for 20 minutes from locations around the city and drop off at their official bike station at Digby and Sowton station. Visit their website to find out more.

Where to eat and sleep?

There is a piazza bar at the rear of the grandstand where you can grab a drink before entering the ground itself. Once through the turnstiles, there are bars dotted around the stadium serving a range of drinks including local ale and bitter.

Exeter is a small but pleasant city (population just over 100,000) with a large University and as you might expect there are plenty of pubs and bars located around the city centre.

1. The Ship Inn on Martin Lane near the Cathedral is a nice traditional pub, a good choice for real ale and cider fans.
2. Out towards the ground, the amazingly named Blue Ball is about five minutes from the ground and offers parking, special rugby day offers and the beer has been recommended by one of contributors.
3. The Imperial is a large Wetherspoons pub located behind the St.Davids Station Premier Inn.
4. There is a branch of the Walkabout Australian bar on Fore Street at the bottom of the high street if you are looking to catch some sport on TV.
5. The historic quayside area of Exeter, once the centre of the town’s wool trade has a range of pubs and bars for those who like to have a drink beside the water.

At the ground there are plenty of food stands selling the usual match day selection – Cornish pasties, burgers, hot dogs and so on. In town, there are branches of chain restaurants alongside independent restaurants in and around the High Street.

In addition, Oddfellows on New North Road is just off the High Street in particular.

There are plenty of places to stay in Exeter, including a Premier Inn at St Davids station (note there is another further out of town) and Jurys Inn. The Abode and Mercure hotels offer 4-star alternatives. Near to the ground, there is a Travelodge at the services of Junction 30 of the M5, if you are that way inclined but you will be away from the bars and restaurants in town.

Facilities

The stadium holds a number of conference rooms and has a leisure centre next door. This demonstrates the need for the modern rugby stadium to generate alternative revenue streams.

Sandy Park is one of the largest and most versatile conference venues in the South West.

Whether it’s an annual conference, training event or new product launch, Sandy Park has the flexibility to host these events. They offer unrivalled organizational support and first-class conferencing facilities and meeting rooms, all conveniently situated by Junction 30 of the M5 and within easy reach of the cathedral city of Exeter and East Devon’s stunning countryside.

Sandy Park is home to five executive suites plus eighteen seminar suites with a range of capacities from two to over 800. All suites are air-conditioned and the latest audio-visual technology is installed throughout the venue, including data projectors and high definition screens, a PA system in all of the main suites with a range of microphones, Infrared Audio Hearing systems and Apple TV for wireless connections from devices. High speed Wi-Fi is also available in all areas of the building.

Their delegate packages include a comprehensive range of equipment and a selection of high-quality in-house catering to ensure you have everything you need for your conference.

There is also the state-of-the-art £36m Courtyard Exeter Sandy Park Hotel, run by the Marriot group, offering customers and clients of Sandy Park a fabulous location to base themselves whilst with them.

The 250-bed, eight-story development provides leisure facilities on the entry floor, which also includes a lounge, a snack and coffee bar. The Jewel in the crown of the hotel is a rooftop cocktail bar, together with a spectacular restaurant that boasts picturesque views down the River Exe Estuary and towards Torbay.

Exclusive Room Rates and Packages are offered for clients hosting Events & Conferences at Sandy Park so why not get in touch with our Events Team to find out more about enjoying the very best hospitality in the South West!

History

Chiefs moved from their original home, the County Ground, to the brand-new Sandy Park in 2006. At the time, the capacity was just 6,000 but the move immediately almost doubled attendances.

The first competitive game at Sandy Park was against Coventry on the 16th of September 2006. The two sides played out a 13-all draw in a season, which saw Exeter finish fourth in the Championship.