$25,000,000 Delay Forced $350M Rich Ryan Reynolds to Tear Down 216YO Stadium’s Stands as Wrexham’s Development Hit Big Roadblock

The new season of Welcome to Wrexham TV show promises thrills, spills, and excitement. After the success of season one, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are back with a bang. By backing the club during timely needs, Ryan’s ready to go all in! Out of all the promises they spoke about, one mission statement became the development of the Racecourse Ground. Opened in 1807 and for soccer matches in 1864, the stadium needed a revamp following the club’s success in recent times. 

However, Wrexham faced difficulties finding the funds, and the delays caused the fans to wonder what went wrong. Thus, in the documentary, Ryan discussed the issues they went through to complete the revamp of the stadium. The actor explained the renovation of the stadium was not a straightforward task. 

Wrexham AFC’s Ryan Reynolds struggles with funding for Racecourse Ground!

The documentary shed light on the behind-the-scenes issues concerning getting the funding approved. At first, they prepared a plan and presented it to the UK Government in order to receive financing of $25 million. The owners wanted international football to be played in the old stadium. Yet, the government rejected their plan, and fans began pondering for answers. Because of the delay, the owners had to step in and fund the stadium revamp by raising capital from their own pockets. 

According to Welcome to Wrexham S02E01, Ryan stated, “The delays in funding put us at risk of falling behind schedule. So we needed to have the new Kop built for the 2024-25 season. So we decided to pay for the demolition of the old Kop ourselves and began tearing it down.” The 10,500-seat stadium will upgrade to an additional 5,500 seats following the prioritization of several objectives in the expansion plans crafted by Ryan and Rob. A total of 15,500 seats would ensure a boost in the matchday income for the club. 

READ MORE- Following Major Sponsorship Deal, Wrexham’s 158-Year-Old Racecourse Ground’s Popular Stand Set To Be Renamed

Yet, the delays kept coming, and the owners needed to step in. With promised funds redirected to the Wrexham Council, certain political motives stopped the funding from getting through swiftly, according to the earlier episodes of the documentary. Finally, they received backing of $31.5 million to construct the new stand at their stadium. So, where does it rank with the top stadiums in the EFL League Two?

Stadium capacity of EFL League Two clubs

Currently, the stadium with the highest capacity is MK Dons’ Stadium MK. It has a seating capacity of 30,500 seats and provides a raucous atmosphere during those games. The next stadium on the list is the Northern Commercials stadium of Bradford City, with a seating capacity of 25,136. Owing to the completion of the new stand, the Racecourse Ground will rank sixth. 

Meanwhile, the lowest-capacity stadium in the league is of Barrow called Holker Street. It has a ground capacity of just 2,829 fans. Thus, fans cannot wait for the Racecourse Ground to be completed and bring in the extra 5,500 voices to cheer for their home team. 

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