Tony Rowe's words should put Exeter's PREM rivals on red alert

Exeter Chiefs chief executive Tony Rowe has sounded a warning to the rest of the Gallagher Prem that the club’s new prospective owners, Black Knight, have got a big chequebook and they are willing to use it.

Rowe says that the American billionaire Bill Foley, who owns Premier League outfit AFC Bournemouth and NHL side The Vegas Golden Knights, could complete the takeover of the Chiefs by the start of next month.

The Chiefs’ long-time sugar daddy says that Black Knight are expecting success on the pitch and that he is staying on to make sure he and Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter deliver on it.

“They’ve said to me, and they said to Rob that they don’t want us to change anything, and so I’m not going to change anything. They want success, and I think we can give them that,” Rowe told BBC Radio Devon.

“I’ve looked into what they’ve done at AFC Bournemouth, and they’ve been there three or four years, they’ve invested a lot of money, and they’re still investing money there, and they’re very happy with their set-up there.

“The same guy that was in charge within Black Knight then is the same guy we’re dealing with, and I’m very excited about it, so is Rob. We know down the line we’re going to go franchise – 2030’s the idea that Prem Rugby goes franchise.

“Well, between now and then, we’re going to spend some money, we’re going to sort out a few issues at Sandy Park, and that means money. Across the league, we’ve all got to spend a bit of money to get ourselves ready, and what better way?

“We’ve got a new investor who appears to have a big chequebook. My job is to make sure I run the business properly, Rob’s job is to make sure he gets results on the pitch, and then their job would be to supply the money.”