Racecourse Ground – construction description

Why is a new stand to be built at the Racecourse Ground?

In late 2020/early 2021, two American actors, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, became the new owners of Wrexham AFC club. One of the priority tasks they set themselves was to solve the problem of the east stand (known as the Kop) at Racecourse Ground stadium.

The Kop Stand, the oldest at the entire venue, had been out of use since 2008 due to failing to meet safety requirements. Meanwhile, due to the high interest in Wrexham AFC matches, the club needed to make more seats available to supporters at the stadium.

How is the new stand at Wrexham Stadium progressing?

Already in the summer of 2021, the first step was taken by removing the metal railings from the old stand. In June 2022, the club became the owner of the stadium again, plans and renderings of the new stand were made public and the local authority allowed the demolition.

In November 2022, the city approved the plans to build a new stand. At the end of 2022, demolition of the old structure began. The club's owners hoped to obtain funding for the construction from a government scheme, but in January 2023 the project was not shortlisted for grants.

Despite the refusal, Wrexham AFC's owners hoped to raise the missing funds themselves and have the new stand ready before the start of the 2024/25 season. However, work did not get underway in time and the summer 2024 opening date for the stand became unrealistic.

Despite the construction of the stand not starting, the stadium's floodlighting masts were replaced. Three of the four were exchanged in April/May 2023, with the last one being replaced in August 2023.

Due to ongoing problems with the project, the club decided to build a temporary, unroofed stand for 2,289 spectators for the home fans in December 2023. The date for the actual project is unknown, but the club remains fully committed to the new stand.

What will the new Kop Stand at Wrexham Stadium be like?

For more information on the plans to build a new grandstand at the Racecourse Ground, visit our project page

The design involves demolishing the old Kop Stand and then building a new one in its place. The new Kop Stand will be freestanding (no corners) and fully roofed. Its external facade will be predominantly clad in black panels, referencing Wrexham's mining traditions.

The stand will be the tallest in the entire stadium and will accommodate 5,500 spectators, of which 500 seats, located at the top, will be business seats. Seats with barriers will be installed in the stand to allow matches to also be watched standing up. Underneath the structure, new rooms will be created to house, among other things, offices and a club shop. Once the new stand is open, the capacity of Racecourse Ground will increase to around 16,000 spectators.