05/01/24 09:04:00
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05/01 09:02 CDT Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney want to expand
stadium capacity to 55,000
Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney want to expand stadium capacity
to 55,000
By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have given an insight into their long-term
ambitions for Welsh soccer team Wrexham, which they hope could eventually see
the capacity of its Racecourse Ground stadium increase massively to 55,000.
The Hollywood pair have already transformed the fortunes of the historic but
down-on-its-luck club through their $2.5 million takeover in 2021 and the
fly-on-the-wall documentary series "Welcome to Wrexham" that is streamed around
the world.
After back-to-back promotions, Wrexham will play in the third tier of English
soccer next season.
Currently the Racecourse only holds 12,600 fans, with plans to build a new
5,500-capacity stand in place. But Reynolds and McElhenney's vision is to build
one of the biggest stadiums in English soccer.
"We have a plan in place right now that would eventually work from stand to
stand, so eventually you get all four sides. It's hard to say for sure, but we
think we could get between 45-and-55,000 people in there," McElhenney told
entertainment website Collider.
"Like the whole town could come to the game," Reynolds added.
The biggest club stadium in the English league is Manchester United's Old
Trafford, which has a capacity of 74,310.
Reynolds and McElhenney have been frustrated so far in their attempts to
develop the Racecourse, which they hoped would see a new stand opened for the
start of the 2024-25 season.
In the face of ongoing delays, a temporary stand was erected last season.
"It's a lot harder to build in the U.K. than, I found, almost anywhere else in
the world," McElhenney said.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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