The Racecourse Ground has been missing a stand for a few years now, but plans have moved onto the next stage, and the Kop could end up being even bigger than initially thought.
When Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds took over at Wrexham, they made it part of their mission to improve the Racecourse Ground.
As the oldest international footballing venue still in use today, the stadium is not only vitally important to the people of Wrexham, it is a part of football heritage throughout the world.
But, as with all things, evolution is a part of preserving that legacy, and the Wrexham owners have taken their time to ensure changes to the stadium, namely the old Kop, have been done right.
Kop expansion moves onto next stage, with scope for another 1,500 fans
The original plan was to get the old standing Kop replaced by the start of the 2024/25 season, but things have taken a little longer than first thought. But, it’s all moving in the right direction now.
As per an update from the club’s official website, CEO Michael Williamson said: “The submission of the revised designs for the new Kop Stand is a major milestone for this hugely important project and an intense period of activity will follow in the coming months to complete the new Stand for summer 2026.
“While the revised design utilises the original footprint and volume of the earlier approved design, we have strived over these past few months with our partners and design team to masterplan the STōK Cae Ras with the Kop Stand as the first phase.
“We want to create a stadium which is authentic, organic and in keeping with Wrexham. The design will therefore emphasise materials that reflect the strong heritage and character of Wrexham.”
The new Kop was set to lift the capacity of the Racecourse by 5,500, taking it to 15,000 in total. But, according to additional information gathered from the minutes of the Wrexham club advisory board meeting held last month (via Wales Online), that could expand to 7,000 more seats as the club deals with high demand for tickets.
Wrexham need to prepare for life in the Championship with a bigger ground
Rob and Ryan’s ultimate goal for Wrexham is to lead the club to the Premier League, and part of that progression will be as much about how the club operates and its facilities as it is about the football on the pitch.
That step is a few years away yet, but the Red Dragons are right on track to reach the Championship and this initial expansion is certainly going to align Wrexham with other clubs in the second tier in terms of their capacity.
Whether that dream of promotion is achieved this season or not, it’s clear Wrexham are destined to go up in the near future, and it’s great that the club is already ahead of that ambition in off-the-pitch terms.
Now, we just have to hope that Wrexham have what it takes to get promoted this year, to continue this incredible story with a third-successive promotion.