Wrexham’s new 5,500-seater stand won’t be ready for the start of next season, as promised by Hollywood owners – and there is no start date for the construction work
- Wrexham owners have promised a new 5,500-seater stand will be built
- The owners wanted him to be ready for the start of next season, but that won’t happen
- Listen to the latest episode of the Mail Sport podcast ” Everything starts “
Wrexham have announced that their new Kop Stand will not be in place for the start of the 2024-25 season.
The club’s Hollywood owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, had previously promised to build a new 5,500-seat grandstand before next season to increase the racecourse’s capacity to 16,000.
However, the League Two side have now confirmed that this will no longer be possible and revealed that a start date for construction work has not yet been agreed.
A club statement read: “The new Kop will not be open for the start of the 2024/25 season with a planned construction period of 12 months from start on site. There is no date for on-site start-up, as several items need to be resolved before they can be confirmed.
“To enable a contract to be signed for the construction of the Kop, Wrexham County Borough Council’s funding agreement must be finalized and the club must be satisfied that the conditions attached to the funding offer can be fulfilled.”
Wrexham plans to build a new 5,500-seat stand at the racecourse
Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds (left) and Rob McElhenney (right) wanted it in place for the start of next season.
However, this will no longer be possible and no construction start date has been set.
“It is hoped that these negotiations will be completed before the end of October 2023.”
The club then listed a number of conditions that must be met before work on the stand can begin.
One of the conditions was to obtain clarification from UEFA on the requirements Wrexham must meet to gain category four stadium status.
UEFA currently classifies stadiums into categories ranging from one to four, with the latter value being necessary for a club to host matches in the Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League, League Nations and the European Championship.
Reynolds and McElhenney have previously stated that their ultimate aim is to take the club all the way to the Premier League, and they appear determined to have a stadium fit for the elite.
Wrexham gained promotion from the National League last season and made a promising start to their first season in the Football League for 15 years.
Phil Parkinson’s men have picked up 15 points from their opening eight games to move up to fourth place, just three points behind leaders Gillingham.