Wrexham’s football team and town have undergone a revolution in recent years thanks to the efforts of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, but the Hollywood stars have paid a heavy price for it.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the owners of Wrexham, would likely suffer more financial losses as a result of constructing a temporary new stand at the Racecourse Ground.
After taking charge at Wrexham, Reynolds and McElhenney wrote their own screenplay, which led to the Red Dragons’ elevation to the Football League for the first time in fifteen years. For the Hollywood celebs, it hasn’t all been flash and sparkle, though.
The two have not received much financial compensation for their significant investments in the North Wales team to help them return to the Football League, despite working hard to climb the non-league ladder.
The possibility to construct a new stand behind one of the goals at the Racecourse has been one of the club’s main problems since the old Kop was destroyed for safety concerns last year. The famous stand’s reconstruction has been put on hold for the time being, despite the Hollywood stars’ plans being made public.
While more people will pass through the turnstiles in the interim thanks to the temporary stand that Reynolds and McElhenney oversaw being built in its stead, additional loss will result from this. “We can’t recoup the money the stand has cost to build and then operate,” club director Humphrey Ker said to The Athletic.
“Maybe not until we find a major sponsor. However, we anticipate losing money on this. On social media, I’ve seen admirers perform calculations and remark, “They can do this and that to make it pay.” But a great deal of those were incorrect. First off, not all tickets are £20 because not all attendees are adults. In addition to the initial investment, we also need to install new turnstiles, hire people, and secure the entire region. Everything also needs to be kept up with.
“Shaun [Harvey, the club director] computed his personal earnings per seat after deducting all other expenses. We’ll also lose money. However, it’s a tiny price to pay to draw in more spectators to the stadium. The position
Co-owner McElhenney pushed for the concept of a temporary stand after the club was informed earlier this year that work on the permanent stand would not be able to begin until at least the conclusion of the season. “I strongly objected to the concept. at least to begin with,” Ker continued.
“I did this because I didn’t want to postpone the Kop’s commencement.” My mindset was, “I want spades in the ground and to get on with it ASAP,” even if it takes two weeks to set up and another two weeks to take down. Rob, on the other hand, was the one urging us to take this action. Time has irritably shown me once more that he was correct and I was not.”
It is anticipated that McElhenney and colleague co-owner Reynolds will suffer greater financial losses despite their enthusiasm. When Ker appeared on the Disney+ documentary “Welcome To Wrexham,” he informed the two Hollywood owners that they had lost “loads” of money—roughly £12 million.
