Wrexham owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have dropped a very ambitious plan for expanding the club’s stadium.
During their time as owners, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have clamoured to improve Wrexham‘s stadium.
Plans were put in place to build a new 5,500-seater stand in July last year and it was due to be complete before the start of the 2024/25 season. In September, Wrexham announced they would need more time than expected to complete the construction.
The club faced issues with Buckingham Construction Group, the company contracted to complete the renovations. They had to pause their work due to losing several contracts quickly, placing them in financial difficulty.
A temporary stand with a capacity of 2,289 was instead erected to match the increased demand for tickets, playing their first game against Newport in December.
Paul Mullin has since spoken about the temporary stand’s positive impact on the players, with McElhenney and Reynolds clamouring for something much bigger.
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds hint at ambitious stadium update
The Hollywood superstars have ambitions of taking Wrexham to the Premier League.
They’ve longed for improvements to the stadium but have spoken about their difficulties with the bureaucracy and planning permission.
However, that hasn’t stopped them from dreaming big and wanting to create an arena that would put them on par with most top-flight clubs.
Speaking on the Collider Interviews YouTube channel, McElhenney and Reynolds revealed their plans to create a 45,000 – 55,000 seater stadium.
“We have a plan in place right now that would eventually work from stand to stand, so eventually get all four sides,” McElhenney said.
“And it’s hard to say for sure, but we think we can get between 45-55,000 people in there.”
Big ambitions for a small town
According to the total population website, Wrexham’s town has a population of 135,100.
McElhenney and Reynolds want to create an arena with 45,000 – 55,000 people, almost half the town’s population.
To achieve this plan, it would be difficult to attract that number of people to Wrexham matches, regardless of their success.
We’ve seen teams such as Bournemouth and Luton Town – notoriously small places – get promoted to the top flight and still boast the lowest capacities in the division.
Although the clubs are having success, it’s still hard to increase the number of people watching and imagining 45,000 people spectating a match in Wrexham currently feels far-fetched.
That doesn’t mean to say it’s impossible as they could attract people from surrounding areas, but filling out a massive stadium could be a big challenge.