Wrexham the Owners Ryan Reynolds It is Rob McElhenney revealed ambitious plans to expand the club’s stadium, with capacity for up to “55 thousand” a possible target.
The Welsh side are celebrating back-to-back promotions and will play in League One next season, while the success of his documentary series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ saw a huge increase in the club’s fan base across the world.
Boosted by the presence of Hollywood celebrities Reynolds and McElheney, Wrexham played in front of a crowd of more than 50,000 when they faced Premier League side Chelsea in a pre-season friendly in the US last July – but the historic pitch The club’s races currently host a more modest 12,600 fans.
The stadium, which is called SToK Racecourse for sponsorship reasons, has undergone renovations this season with a temporary stand replacing the Kop behind one of the goals. The Hippodrome ground is the oldest international football stadium in the world still hosting games, having hosted its first game in Wales in 1877.
Reynolds and McElhenney said “bureaucratic red tape” was causing frustration in their attempts to rebuild the stadium, but told Collider that their ultimate plan is to welcome audiences that would be on par with the Premier League’s biggest.
“We have a plan in place now that would work from position to position so that eventually you have all four sides,” McElhenney said. “It’s hard to say for sure, but we think we could attract between 45,000 and 55,000 people.”
Reynolds added that “the whole town could go to a game” if Wrexham hit their target, but the pair said they had encountered “obstacles for the sake of obstacles” in their attempt to expand the Hippodrome pitch.
McElhenney and Reynolds, however, expressed frustration with the “red tape” over UK building regulations
“It’s much harder to build in the UK than anywhere else in the world,” McElhenney said. “Getting to the Premier League is the ultimate goal – and staying in the Premier League for it to be sustainable.
“But just do it in a way that the community supports, because there are all kinds of ways to be successful. We feel there are only a few ways to make it ethically viable to do so.”
