IT'S OFFICIAL! Sandy Park is open for business

It's official... Sandy Park is back and open for business again after its £10 million transformation this summer.

Visitors who have been used to seeing the Exeter Chiefs tearing up at the Devon venue in the Aviva Premiership, have instead had to watch as contractors have gone about the extensive face-lift to the Westcountry's Premier Conferencing and Banqueting Centre.

After months of work behind the scenes, Sandy Park is now a figure of its former self as construction teams have gone about expanding the award-winning venue.

Building off the existing structure that was first created in 2006, the main part of the works have seen the existing West Grandstand undergo a multi-million change, doubling its capacity for usage on both match-days and events throughout the course of the week.

Other plans in and around the stadium have seen a new East Terrace developed in time for Saturday's opening home game against Leicester Tigers, whilst £1m has also been spent on the pitch itself as the Chiefs have added a new DESSO Grassmaster hybrid playing surface.

The works are all part of a grand vision for Sandy Park, which next year will play host to three fixtures during Rugby World Cup 2015.

Welcoming its first visitors - Countrywide Property Auctions, The Academy of Chief Executives, Exeter Chamber of Commerce and the PSUK National Cross Country Championships - the new-look Sandy Park now offers visitors a state-of-the-art facility that can cater for events of over 1,500 people.

In just a matter of weeks, Sandy Park's four main function rooms have been doubled in size to meet with increased demand, whilst an additional six new executive boxes have also been added to help with not only match-days, but the growing number of conferences, exhibitions and events.

Already a number of high-profile in-house events have been booked, including the sell-out Grand Reopening Night on October 2; Comedy at the Park (October 10); Autumn Wedding Fair (October 19) and the b2b@SandyPark Business Exhibition on November 5.

Whilst forthcoming outside events include the Dream-a-Way Charity Ball; Devon Life Food & Drink Awards; Express & Echo Pride of Exeter Awards and the Harry Cunningham Trust Ball, which will be covered by OK Magazine and will include celebrity guests from Coronation Street, TOWIE, MIC and Devon's very own 'X-Factor' star Luke Friend.

Heralding the new dawn at Sandy Park, General Manager Natasha Pavis said: "After nearly two years of planning, preparation and building, it's so exciting to see Sandy Park in use in its newly expanded state.

"We're looking forward to welcoming familiar faces back to make the most of our state-of-the-art facilities, as well as being able to hold larger conferences and events."