Sandy Park up for top award

Sandy Park, home to Aviva Premiership club Exeter Chiefs, has been shortlisted for Rugby Venue of the Year at the upcoming Rugby Expo Awards.

The Devon venue, which was built in 2006, will battle it out for the honour along with Allianz Park, the home to top flight rivals Saracens.

Last season, Aviva Premiership supporters from all 12 clubs voted Sandy Park as the best match-day experience, whilst in 2015 the stadium will also play host to three Rugby World Cup games.

Off the field, the venue continues to be a popular attraction for businesses, charities and individuals to host a wide range of events during the week.
A number of very worthy nominations were also received for the outstanding contribution to rugby award and junior club of the year, but the judges will continue to debate these before the winners are announced on Wednesday, November 13.

Commenting on the judging process, Tony Copsey, chairman of the judging panel, said: “We were very impressed with the calibre of the awards entries this year and it certainly made our job as judges very difficult.

“The Awards are a great opportunity to celebrate achievements throughout rugby and the quality of this year’s entries certainly reflects the dedication and hard work that characterises the sport. On behalf of the Rugby Expo management team, I would like to thank everyone that entered, the judges for their hard work and support and Trevor Watkins and his team at Pinsent Masons for hosting the judges’ meeting.”

The finalists for each category are as follows:

Sponsor of the year
* New Zealand Rugby and AIG
*WRU and Swalec
*WRU and Admiral
* British & Irish Lions and Rhino Rugby

Marketing campaign of the year
* Cardiff Blues – 2013/14 shirt and season ticket launch
* Aviva & Premiership Rugby – ‘#matters’ campaign
* WRU – ‘This Autumn. Our Land. Our Way’ campaign

Technical innovation
* Allianz Park synthetic turf pitch
* Rhino Rugby Ngage scrum machine
* Pitchero iOS Mobile App

Rugby event of the year
* Aviva Premiership Rugby Final
* Wales versus England

Community programme of the year
* Bhubesi Pride and Rugby in Africa 2013
* Trust Rugby International and ‘The Clan’
* Premiership Rugby and Try Rugby SP in Brazil

Rugby Venue of the Year
* Allianz Park, Saracens
* Sandy Park, Exeter Chiefs

Words by Mark Stevens

Photo: Pinnacle Photo Agency

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