Ryan and Rob planning a field of dreams
THE Hollywood owners of Wrexham AFC say their ambition is to have 55,000 fans packed inside the club’s ground.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney completed a £2million takeover of the then National League club in February 2021.
They have since overseen two successive promotions and Wrexham will play in League One next season. But the co-owners said their ambition is to reach the Premier League – and they hope to transform the club’s Racecourse Ground. A new 5,500 all-seater stand is already planned at the stadium, which currently has a capacity of 12,600.
Rob, 47, star of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, told entertainment website Collider: “We have a plan that would work from stand to stand, so eventually you get all four sides. We think we could get 45-55,000 people in there.” Deadpool actor Ryan, 47, said they hoped “the whole town could come to the game”.
The stars are preparing for the release of season three of their hit Welcome to Wrexham documentary, which is released in the UK on Friday on Disney+.
The show will refer to some of the obstacles they have had to clear and Ryan said: “I live in New York, Rob lives in LA, where construction is very different, in as much as they will charge you $10 for every $1 you spend.
“But in Wales, it really is a lot of red tape, and it’s just sort of figuring out ways to tick all those boxes and make sure every single bureaucrat is happy.”
Rob added: “It is a comedic point of consternation in the show how often we run up against bureaucracy. It’s a lot harder to build in the UK than, I found, almost anywhere else.”