Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney has received a reality check over his ambition of increasing the club's stadium capacity to as much as 55,000. The 47-year-old, known for his role of 'Mac' in the hit sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, last year outlined his dream of boosting the current number of seats at the Racecourse Ground by more than 40,000. McElhenney's comments were made in an interview with co-chairman Ryan Reynolds as they discussed their hopes of redeveloping the historic venue which was built in 1877.
He told American entertainment website Collider: "We have a plan in place right now that would eventually work from stand to stand, so eventually you get all four sides. It's hard to say for sure, but we think we could get between 45 and 55,000 people in there." However, fast forward eight months and those numbers have now been scaled back to between 28,000 and 32,000.
It follows the arrival of Wrexham's new chief executive, Michael Williamson, who took up his post in August 2024, and the appointment of new architects to oversee the stadium revamp shortly after. Williamson's previous experience includes senior roles with Italian giants Inter Milan, overseeing the planning and design of redevelopment work at the San Siro.
In the wake of his introduction in North Wales, Populous were given a contract to spearhead the work at Wrexham following the company's involvement in major schemes such as the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and The Sphere in Las Vegas. Their first job was to re-design the new Kop Stand at the Racecourse, a 5,500 seater stand which the League One club already has planning permission for.
