Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney ‘made £360,000 loss to fund temporary Wrexham stand’… as the Hollywood stars admit the decision made ‘zero financial sense’
- Wrexham installed a temporary stand at the Racecourse Ground in December
- Reynolds and McElhenney approved the move to increase their promotional push
- Will Leeds be a serious side if they get promoted back to the Premier League? Listen to the It all starts! podcast
Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have admitted they suffered a significant financial loss by installing a temporary stand at the club’s stadium last season.
The Welsh team announced in December that it would build a temporary stand with a capacity of 2,289 people at the Kop.
Their move came after it was revealed that their new 5,500-seat end at the Racecourse Ground would not be ready in time for next season.
The temporary stand first welcomed fans when Wrexham hosted Newport County last December.
Reynolds and McElhenney’s decision to pursue the temporary position was explored in the series Welcome to Wrexham.
Ryan Reynolds, left, and Rob McElhenney, right, have revealed the cost of installing a temporary stand for Wrexham
The Hollywood duo approved in December the installation of a stand with a capacity of 2,289 people,
The temporary stand opened later that month with a reported cost of approximately £360,000
Always Sunny In Philadelphia creator McElhenney and Deadpool actor Reynolds admitted the move would cost them £360,000 to complete, with the latter admitting it ‘didn’t make financial sense’.
The Hollywood stars approved the temporary position in a bid to boost the club’s promotion from League Two.
“The Kop is moving very slowly, it’s hard to get everything approved and moving at the speed we want to move,” Reynolds said, as reported by the Mirror.
“Rob had suggested, ‘What would happen if we temporarily put 2,500 seats in that area?’
‘Financially it makes absolutely no sense.’
McElhenney added: “We’ll figure it out. We’re going to lose a significant amount of money on it.
“I think it’s a competitive advantage, though, to be able to close that stadium, it’ll be twice as loud.”
Wrexham welcomed 12,000 fans for the derby with Newport County for the first time in 16 years, as their average attendance for the season rose to 11,210 from 9,973 last season.
Reynolds admitted the temporary position “didn’t make financial sense” but McElhenney believed it could help boost the club’s efforts to secure promotion to League One.
Wrexham’s average attendance was further increased by the installation of the temporary stand
The Welsh team secured their second successive promotion, earning a place in League One
Wrexham eventually finished second in League Two and secured a second successive promotion.
Reynolds and McElhenney have previously discussed their intentions to turn Wrexham into a Premier League club and revealed plans to renovate the Racecourse Ground earlier this month.
“We now have a plan in place that would ultimately work from position to position, so ultimately you get all four sides. It’s hard to say for sure, but we think we can get between 45 and 55,000 people there,” McElhenney said on Welcome to Wrexham.
The club’s Hollywood owners have invested heavily since purchasing the club for £2 million in February 2021.
Accounts revealed in March that Wrexham had paid out £6.9m in wages during their National League promotion season alone.
The accounts also revealed that the club would have to pay £207,500 to other clubs for the transfer of players if promoted to League One – something the club achieved.
Wrexham will also pay out £509,710 as part of player contracts and bonuses after promotion.