Rob Baxter makes his position clear ahead of huge day for Exeter

Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter has issued a rallying call to the club’s 700 members ahead of Thursday’s crucial vote on Black Knight Sports and Entertainment’s takeover bid, saying it’s ‘a positive move for the club’.

The club has called a Special General Meeting at Sandy Park to decide whether the club will be sold to AFC Bournemouth owner Bill Foley and become part of his multisport investment empire, which includes French club Lorient and New Zealand’s Auckland FC.

Foley also owns the NHL franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, who won the prestigious Stanley Cup for the first time in 2023, just six years after joining the NHL, and his investment vehicle, Cannae Holdings, is behind the club’s takeover.

Cannae’s chief executive, Ryan Caswell, was at the recent defeat to Northampton Saints and is looking to develop on and off the pitch, including new training facilities and improvements around the stadium to build on the club’s success over the years.

Baxter’s voice carries a lot of weight with Chiefs fans, and he believes it’s the way forward, urging them not to stand in Black Knight Sports’ way and to back the takeover.

“I’ve got to be careful. I don’t want to talk out of ignorance because obviously, the majority of the discussions have happened with the members of the board who are far more business-involved than I am,” he said.

“I’m very much the rugby voice on the board. But what I would say is that I’m very confident that it’s a positive way forward for the club. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be brought to the members.

“The people who’ve looked at it know the financial situation the club’s in at the moment and have deemed it a very positive move for the club.

“I think that in itself is the most important thing for me to say. But I just think it I think it just keeps the club on a progressive footing, and that’s where we want to be.”