Chiefs expansion plans

Just seen a promotional video of Exeter Chiefs proposals to expand the stadium to 20k its looking good and they have a sound business plan. They are going to be serious force for some time to come

http://www.exeterchiefs2020bond.com/2020-bonds-video.html

It's impressive and ambitious,  but I worry they will not fill it.  Their average attendance has hovered around the 8000 mark for the past three season and if that continued the stadium could appear cavernous.  It's sort of like Super rugby where the teams play in huge half empty stadiums with no atmosphere.  (S.A. accepted).

I'd rather watch games in smaller stadiums that are nearly full, rather than big stadiums with no atmosphere.

Isn't a 'plan'. I'm pretty it's tied to increase attendances not just like Wleford road is.

That headline is very misleading.

Cumbrian wrote:It's impressive and ambitious,  but I worry they will not fill it.  Their average attendance has hovered around the 8000 mark for the past three season and if that continued the stadium could appear cavernous.  It's sort of like Super rugby where the teams play in huge half empty stadiums with no atmosphere.  (S.A. accepted).

I'd rather watch games in smaller stadiums that are nearly full, rather than big stadiums with no atmosphere.

As an Edinburgh fan, I would echo that comment (see what I did there? Eh, did you? )

aucklandlaurie wrote:
That headline is very misleading.

Yes I thought it was in reference to the creation or not of a dynsaty, legacy or what not as well Laurie...

Taylorman wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote:
That headline is very misleading.

Yes I thought it was in reference to the creation or not of a dynsaty, legacy or what not as well Laurie...

Jeez, you two, you're so SH biased!

In reality, the only piece of this that is 'new' news, is an update to how the initial slug of financing will be raised (the previous preference share plan, limited to members and HNWIs only, sadly didn't raise sufficient cash, and the 2020 bond offer is hopefully broader in appeal).  The actual underlying stadium redevelopment plans remain much as they were - piecemeal, and balanced with demand.  Altho our average attendance isn't huge, its been steadily growing since we arrived in the premiership (averaged across all competitions) - there will clearly be certain games that could be sold out many times over (ie any game against Bath or Glaws, any big name European team with a large number of travelling fans, such as Leinster last season); equally there will be games that draw a smaller crowd, but even for those currently, very rarely does the stadium feel empty.  The idea is to lift the max attendance in stages (currently c.10.5k, then up to 12k, etc.) aligned with the growth of the conferencing facilities which go a long way to making Sandy Park (and Exeter Rugby in general) financially viable (in particular, as a members club).  To me this all sounds like smart business, not a small club over-reaching itself, nor one that is reliant on a single external source of finance that could disappear at the drop of a hat

InjuredYetAgain wrote:

Cumbrian wrote:It's impressive and ambitious,  but I worry they will not fill it.  Their average attendance has hovered around the 8000 mark for the past three season and if that continued the stadium could appear cavernous.  It's sort of like Super rugby where the teams play in huge half empty stadiums with no atmosphere.  (S.A. accepted).

I'd rather watch games in smaller stadiums that are nearly full, rather than big stadiums with no atmosphere.

As an Edinburgh fan, I would echo that comment (see what I did there? Eh, did you? )

Very good, IYA - don't go giving up the day job now!

For those that are interested, the details of the bond offer are on the offy: http://www.exeterchiefs2020bond.com/ Fair chunk of accounting info on the detailed invitation, including forward projections (not surprisingly, showing a profitable club, one of only a short handful, getting more profitable, while reinvesting back in the team and the ground)