WHERE WREXHAM AFC WOULD RANK IN PREMIER LEAGUE IF NEW 55,000 CAPACITY STADIUM IS BUILT

Wrexham AFC owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have outlined ambitious plans to develop the club’s SToK Cae Ras home. They envisage a stadium with up to 55,000 seats, a capacity bigger than all but five of current Premier League stadia.

The Red Dragons will be playing in League One next season after back-to-back promotions and attracting a worldwide fan-base. It follows the success of the FX docu-series “Welcome to Wrexham” and the presence of their Hollywood A-listers.

But Wrexham’s historic ground only holds around 12,600 fans at present, with a temporary stand currently standing on the derelict Kop end behind one goal. “We have a plan in place right now that would work from stand to stand so eventually you get all four sides,” McElhenney said in an interview with entertainment website Collider.

“It’s hard to say for sure, but we think we could get between 45,000 and 55,000 people in there.” To which Reynolds added: “Like, the whole town could come to a game!” According to the 2021 census, Wrexham city has 44,785 inhabitants with 135,100 people in the wider Wrexham county borough.

The largest stadium in the Premier League is Manchester United’s Old Trafford with a 74,310 capacity. They’re followed by two new stadia, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (62,850) and West Ham’s London Stadium (62,500). Next largest is Liverpool FC’s Anfield (61,015) and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium (60,260).

On a par with the upper capacity estimate for SToK Cae Ras is Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium (53,400). If Rob and Ryan’s vision comes to fruition, Wrexham’s enlarged stadium would be bigger than Aston Villa’s Villa Park (42,573), Chelea’s Stamford Bridge (41,841) and Everton’s Goodison Park (40,394).

Luton FC, currently battling relegation, can accommodate only 10,356 fans at its Kenilworth Road stadium. The North Wales Live Whatsapp community for top stories and breaking news is live now - here’s how to sign up

Redevelopment of the SToK Racecourse forms part of the owners’ wider vision for the club as they ultimately target the Premier League. However, McElhenney and Reynolds have expressed frustration with “bureaucratic red tape” over UK building regulations.

“Of course safety concerns and all those regulations are in place for a reason,” said McElhenney. “But then some things just seem hurdles for hurdles’ sake. It’s a lot harder to build in the UK than I have found almost anywhere else in the world.

“Getting to the Premier League is the ultimate goal – and staying in the Premier League so it’s sustainable. But only doing it in a fashion that the community supports because there are all sorts of ways to succeed. We feel that there are only a few paths to be ethically viable to do so.”

Renovation work is already underway with plans for a new 5,500-seat stand approved in November 2022, taking overall capacity to around 16,000. However delays led to a smaller temporary stand being built. Council planners have misgivings over the structure and may restrict how long it can stay up.

In February, Wrexham AFC welcomed 12,532 fans for its League Two win over Notts County, then the club’s biggest home attendance since 1980. On the final day of the season, this figure was bettered to 12,562 when champions Stockport County were defeated.

During the 2023-24 season, the home attendance averaged 11,210, surpassed in League Two only by Bradford City (17,547). Wrexham’s home gate was higher than 18 clubs in League One.

Wrexham’s SToK Racecourse ground is the world’s oldest international football stadium still hosting matches, having staged its first Wales home game in 1877. Developing the stadium significantly would almost certainly result in Wales returning to Wrexham on a more regular basis.

Wales’ senior men’s team has only played at the Racecourse twice since 2009, in low-profile friendlies against Trinidad & Tobago and Gibraltar. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox

McElhenney and Reynolds, meanwhile, have reportedly purchased an undisclosed minority stake in Mexican club Necaxa. American entertainment publication Variety said the pair join other investors such as actress Eva Longoria, model Kate Upton, NFL star Odell Beckham Jr and former Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil at the top-tier club.

2024-05-01T14:01:16Z dg43tfdfdgfd