Wrexham AFC’s Hollywood owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, have announced plans for a new stadium that would surpass Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge in size.
Reynolds and McElhenney are committed to guiding Welsh club Wrexham from the fifth-tier National League to the Premier League.
The actors, famed for their roles in Deadpool and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, have already overseen Wrexham’s remarkable double promotion to League One.
With Wrexham set to play in the third-tier during the 2024-25 season, they are now just two promotions away from reaching the prestigious Premier League.
Reynolds and McElhenney have turned Wrexham into a globally recognized brand, leveraging their Hollywood fame to attract major sponsors like TikTok.
They also created the highly praised television series “Welcome to Wrexham,” which has boosted the club’s international following, especially in the USA.
Reynolds and McElhenney now aim to significantly expand Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground stadium from its current capacity of 12,600 to a massive 55,000.
Rob McElhenney mentioned in an interview with Collider that they have a plan to expand Wrexham’s stadium over time, aiming to complete all four stands. He said that this expansion could potentially allow for 45,000 to 55,000 people, essentially accommodating the whole town at a game. If the capacity reaches the upper limit of 55,000, Wrexham’s stadium would be much larger than Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, which has a capacity of 40,341.
That would be an interesting development given Wrexham have never played English top-flight football in their entire 160-year history, while Chelsea are six-time English champions and two-time European champions.
But it goes to show just how successful Reynolds and McElhenney have been in growing Wrexham’s brand, with huge interest in the team in the United States.
Reynolds and McElhenney wanted a new stand open for the start of this season but ongoing delays saw a temporary stand erected instead. ‘It’s a lot harder to build in the UK than almost anywhere else in the world,’ McElhenney added.
