Sandy Park: Exeter Chiefs

Before you travel

Confirmed · Exeter Chiefs: Getting To Sandy Park · Exeter Chiefs: First visit to Sandy Park · Exeter Chiefs: River Dart Kids Zone · Exeter Chiefs: Accessibility at Sandy Park · Checked on 14 October 2026.

From the County Ground to the edge of Exeter

Sandy Park opened in July 2006 after Exeter sold the County Ground and moved to land beside the M5. The original development combined a 5,000-seat rugby stadium with an events centre, designed to earn income between fixtures. Its present 15,600 capacity reflects successive expansions rather than the scale of the building that welcomed the club at the beginning.

The first Exeter match at Sandy Park finished 13–13 against Coventry. Coventry had also provided the opposition for Exeter’s last match at the County Ground, giving the move an unusual symmetry. Pete Drewett took charge of a new full-time squad in the relocation year, as the club pursued promotion from the second tier rather than arriving as an established Premiership side.

Rob Baxter became head coach for 2009/10, with Ali Hepher and Ricky Pellow in his coaching group. Exeter met Bristol in that season’s promotion play-off final, staging the first leg at Sandy Park before winning 29–10 at the Memorial Stadium. The decisive promotion celebration therefore happened in Bristol, but the two-leg contest included an important home chapter in Devon.

Sandy Park hosted Exeter’s first major trophy victory in 2014: a 15–9 LV= Cup final win against Northampton Saints. Dean Mumm and Chris Whitehead scored the tries, with Henry Slade supplying a conversion and penalty. This was silverware secured on the home pitch itself, rather than a trophy won elsewhere and subsequently brought back to the stadium.

The club launched its professional women’s side in 2020, adding another home team to Sandy Park’s sporting life. The stadium’s twentieth-anniversary account links the growth of its rugby and events businesses, alongside the men’s two Premiership titles and European Cup. The ground’s development has therefore encompassed new teams as well as additional stands and larger crowds.

Confirmed · Sandy Park: 20 Years of Sandy Park · Exeter Chiefs: History · Checked on 14 October 2026.

European milestones and Exeter entertainment

On 26 September 2020, Exeter defeated Toulouse 28–18 at Sandy Park to reach their first Champions Cup final. Harry Williams scored twice, with Sam Simmonds and Joe Simmonds adding the other tries. The opponents were meeting for the first time in European competition, turning a new pairing into one of the most consequential matches played at the stadium.

Toulouse led by six points early in that semi-final, but Exeter went into the interval 14–11 ahead. Williams’s second try extended the advantage before Joe Simmonds broke through to secure the fourth. The result sent Chiefs to a final against Racing 92 at Ashton Gate, distinguishing the Sandy Park breakthrough from the eventual European trophy-winning match in Bristol.

World Rugby selected Sandy Park for three pool matches in the 2015 tournament. The programme brought Tonga against Namibia, Namibia against Georgia, and Italy against Romania to Exeter. Namibia consequently appeared here twice. Five national teams used the venue during that schedule, widening its history beyond Chiefs fixtures and giving the redeveloped ground an international tournament role.

The club locates its pre-match live music in the Powderham Bar and beside the pitch. After the game, it advertises a live band in the Exeter Suite and a DJ in Powderham. Its first-visit guide also identifies the West Grandstand as the place for post-match player signings and photographs, giving these activities specific locations around Sandy Park.

Confirmed · EPCR: European first for Exeter and Toulouse · World Rugby: Exeter ready to give West Country welcome · Exeter Chiefs: First visit to Sandy Park · Checked on 14 October 2026.

Avocet Line trains and named match buses

Digby & Sowton station lies on the Exeter–Exmouth railway line beside the stadium. The club gives a walk of less than ten minutes using the bridge over the A379. Newcourt is its other rail option, with a stated walk of less than fifteen minutes. These are Exeter Chiefs’ published route timings; the two stations are distinct arrival choices, not alternative names for one stop.

The Stagecoach Chiefs Bus starts at Exeter St Davids and calls at Cheeke Street and Heavitree Co-op. Greenslades operates the numbered alternatives: route 77 serves the Exminster, Alphington and St Thomas approaches, while route 78 runs from The Standoff on Longbrook Street through Pinhoe and the eastern suburbs. The club publishes the fixture timetable with these matchday transport arrangements.

Ordinary supporters cannot park at Sandy Park on matchdays. The club’s off-site parking uses Exeter Science Park, off Anning Drive, with a shuttle to the stadium and overflow at Grenadier Road. Sandy Park itself is off M5 junction 30. On-site taxi and private-car pickups are restricted until one hour after the final whistle to protect the pedestrian exit flow.

The Blue Ball Inn operates a separate matchday car park, with advance booking through its linked parking provider. The pub states that matchday parking is chargeable even for its customers. That is a private arrangement associated with the inn, distinct from Exeter Chiefs’ Science Park shuttle scheme, despite both appearing among the practical options for visitors arriving by car.

Our advice (opinion): We would choose Digby & Sowton for the shorter published station walk, particularly when its wheelchair-accessible route suits the travelling group.

Confirmed · Exeter Chiefs: Getting To Sandy Park · Blue Ball Pub: Watch Rugby Near Sandygate Park · Checked on 14 October 2026.

Devon castle names on the food map

The Powderham area contains Powderham Castle Food, serving chips and pasties, and Woodbury Castle Kitchen, which lists chicken and Chiefs curry. The South Corner adds Hemyock Castle Food for burgers, chips and hot drinks, plus a dedicated Chiefs Pasties outlet. These named counters make it possible to identify a particular food area instead of treating the ground’s catering as one undifferentiated concourse.

Around the West Grandstand, the published choices include Dartmouth Castle Grill, the Chiefs Bar and a cocktails kiosk. The North Terrace has the Rougemount, Castle Drogo and Belvedere bars, together with Totnes Castle Grill. Exeter’s food page also confirms that all catering outlets take card payments only, and lists vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options across the outlets.

The River Dart Country Park Kids’ Zone contains a 7.5-metre climbing wall, an artificial Adventure Cave with 90 metres of passages, and a balance-based Adventure Trail. Climbing uses automatic belays with instructors clipping participants onto the safety cable.

Children’s activities also include a rugby passing challenge and two archery ranges. The zone’s wristband gives unlimited access to its adventure activities and one attempt at each of the passing and archery challenges. Participants collect the wristband from the River Dart cabin. The published conditions say the zone closes during the rugby itself, so its activities sit around the match programme.

Confirmed · Exeter Chiefs: Food & Drink · Exeter Chiefs: River Dart Kids Zone · Checked on 14 October 2026.

Covered seats, terraces and two major expansions

Sandy Park offers covered seating in the West Grandstand, Inch’s Stand and upper East Stand. The North Terrace is covered standing accommodation, while the East Terrace is uncovered standing. The club has no designated away end, allowing visiting supporters to choose across the stadium. Terrace tickets are restricted to spectators aged eleven and over, a specific difference from the seating areas.

KTA Architects completed the East Stand expansion in January 2022. The work added 1,948 covered seats and took the stadium capacity to 15,600. It retained the existing lower terrace, extending the building behind it to form a seated tier above. A mid-tier walkway provides access to that seating, while the rear extension incorporates internal concessions and toilets.

The 2014 redevelopment was a separate £10 million phase, centred on enlarging the West Grandstand and creating a new East Terrace. Four main function rooms doubled in size and six executive boxes were added. The work increased Sandy Park’s capacity for conferences and other events as well as its matchday facilities, before the venue hosted the following year’s World Cup programme.

That 2014 project also included £1 million of pitch work, introducing a Desso GrassMaster hybrid surface. The playing area was therefore part of the redevelopment, alongside the more visible changes to spectator and hospitality accommodation. The new East Terrace was ready for the opening home match against Leicester Tigers, making that fixture a marker in the stadium’s physical evolution.

Our pick (opinion): For a standing ticket, we would favour the covered North Terrace over the open East Terrace; families with children under eleven should choose seating.

Confirmed · Exeter Chiefs: First visit to Sandy Park · KTA: Sandy Park Stadium – Exeter Chiefs East Stand · Sandy Park: Sandy Park opens for business · Checked on 14 October 2026.

Rail approaches and wheelchair facilities

Sandy Park lists 58 wheelchair positions, with nearby seats for companions. Accessible toilets are provided in the West Grandstand, behind the East Stand and behind the North Terrace; the East Stand provision uses a Radar key. Bars and catering outlets are accessible, but the club explicitly states that lowered counters are not in use, with staff or stewards available to assist.

The club describes the route from Digby & Sowton station to Sandy Park as wheelchair accessible. Newcourt has step-free platform access, but the route onward towards Old Rydon Lane includes steps. The stadium’s accessible entry arrangements also distinguish the West Grandstand upper concourse, reached through the north turnstile, from pitch-circulation seating accessed through the south turnstile.

Accessible parking can be pre-booked at Pynes Hill through the ticketing team. Its shuttle drops outside the stadium gates, but each bus can accommodate only one wheelchair, so capacity is limited per departure. There is also an accessible entrance through the Supporters Bar beside the Chiefs Bar for the North Terrace’s accessible seating, rather than a single universal entry gate.

Confirmed · Exeter Chiefs: Accessibility at Sandy Park · Checked on 14 October 2026.

The Blue Ball and the hotel bridge

The Blue Ball Inn’s published address is Sandygate, Exeter, Devon EX2 7JL. Its contact page handles both restaurant and accommodation enquiries, so the same named business serves visitors seeking a meal or a room. The address identifies the inn independently of Sandy Park’s own EX2 7NN postcode and Sandy Park Way entrance.

The inn describes itself as a seventeenth-century thatched pub and restaurant. Its menu includes pub classics and pizzas, while its accommodation comprises four en-suite bedrooms with double, twin and family arrangements. This makes it a small pub-with-rooms option rather than a large stadium hotel, with a different scale and setting from the accommodation directly linked to Sandy Park.

For rugby visitors, the Blue Ball publishes a specific drinks-only arrangement: its covered marquee is available, while the indoor space is not offered to drinks-only guests. It advertises a beer garden, barbecue, bar and live music as part of the outdoor offering. Restaurant dining remains a separate option, explaining why arriving for a pint differs from booking an indoor meal.

The Sandy Park Hotel connects to the stadium by a glazed bridge. The club describes it as a four-star property with an exercise centre and a top-floor cocktail bar overlooking the Exe Estuary. Its position and physical link make it the accommodation on the stadium site itself, rather than a hotel reached by travelling back into central Exeter.

Confirmed · Blue Ball Pub: Address and directions · Blue Ball Pub: Blue Ball Inn · Blue Ball Pub: Watch Rugby Near Sandygate Park · Exeter Chiefs: Where to stay · Checked on 14 October 2026.

Tours, young players and the ground’s address

Exeter’s community matchday experiences include a tour of playing facilities, a training session, participation in the pre-game guard of honour and a half-time lap of honour. The package also includes an Inch’s Stand match ticket. These are organised children’s experiences at home games, rather than an unrestricted public stadium tour that any visitor can join without a matchday booking.

Sandy Park also provides a virtual tour through its official venue website. That is an online way to explore the building, separate from the community programme’s physical visit to playing facilities.

The stadium’s full postal address is Sandy Park Stadium, Sandy Park Way, Exeter, Devon EX2 7NN. Exeter Chiefs’ contact page identifies both Digby & Sowton and Newcourt as serving stations and places the ground just off M5 junction 30. It also lists a dedicated ticketing email, ticketing@exeterchiefs.co.uk, for enquiries about admission rather than the separate conference operation.

Confirmed · Exeter Chiefs: Community Chiefs launch new matchday experiences · Sandy Park: Sandy Park Virtual Tour · Exeter Chiefs: Contact the Exeter Chiefs · Checked on 14 October 2026.

Find the ground

• Street map: Sandy Park

Official venue information

Choose your overnight base

Some links earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Plan your next step