By Canadian Press

Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney want to expand stadium capacity to 55,000

May 1, 2024 | 7:27 AM

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.

The Welsh soccer team will play Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps on July 27 at BC Place Stadium as part of a three-game North American tour.

Currently, the Racecourse only holds 12,600 fans, with plans to build a new 5,500-capacity stand in place. But Reynolds, a Vancouver native, and McElhenney’s vision is to build one of the biggest stadiums in English soccer.

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“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

James Robson, The Associated Press