Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney risk failing second Wrexham stadium promise

20 December 2023 , 21:48

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Wrexham must obtain a license before they can seat fans in the temporary stands (Image: @VancityReynolds/Twitter)

Hollywood Wrexham co-owners owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney need help to obtain the necessary license from authorities to sell tickets for their temporary seating stand at the Racecourse, further delaying their promise for stadium upgrades by Dec. 23.

Wrexham had planned to have fans in the temporary stand, which holds 2,289 fans, for Saturday's League 2 game against Notts County, but they're facing a roadblock in their bid to sell tickets. Reynolds and McElhenney initially promised brand-new stands by the start of the next season, but the club also posted on their website that hurdles they have experienced with local authorities have hindered their ability to launch the temporary stands on time.

"Wrexham AFC can confirm good progress is being made with the license application for the Temporary Stand, and opening it on Saturday remains the realistic target, although there are still some hurdles to clear," wrote the team on their website. "If we are able to finalize everything, tickets for the game will be made available to Members Only starting Friday morning. The stand will be used to 80% of capacity for the first game. Further updates will be issued via our official club channels in due course."

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Wrexham can only accommodate fans in the newly constructed temporary stand behind the goal once they obtain the necessary license. The timeline for getting the permit is currently unknown.

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Reynolds and McElhenney failed to deliver on the first promise for a new stand after encountering problems with Buckingham Construction Group, the company hired to develop the new 5,500-seat stand at the vacant Kop end of the stadium. They had to stop their work because they lost a lot of other contracts fast, which put them in financial trouble. The construction group is the same company that worked on Liverpool's Anfield Stadium.

"The new Kop will not be open for the start of the 2024/25 season with a projected build period of 12 months from commencement on site," Wrexham announced. "There is no date for starting on site. Several matters need to be resolved before that can be confirmed."

In a statement that also addressed Kop Stand developments, Wrexham said: "We are making good progress resolving the outstanding matters before the Kop Development can commence, but with a minimum of three months mobilization period before work can start on site, we can now install a temporary stand without negatively impacting the construction program for the Kop.

"The costs of the temporary stand will be greater than generated from ticket sales, but the Board felt the priority was to enable more fans to see the team live and address the frustration some felt that they can't get a ticket for games. The temporary stand will be priced at £20 for adults, £15 for Over-65s/Under-21s, £9 for Under-18s and £6 for Under-11s."

Rory Robinson