Wrexham take full control of Racecourse Ground, clearing path for Kop and wider rebuild | OneFootball

Wrexham have taken full control of the Racecourse Ground after the Wrexham Supporters Trust surrendered its long lease, clearing the way for redevelopment.

The club, owned by Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds, bought the freehold from Wrexham University in 2022. The Trust’s lease had run to 2115 and was sub-leased back to the club for 25 years after the 2021 takeover.

Under the new agreement the Trust receives £187,000, to reimburse fans who kept the club afloat in 2011, and a covenant commits Wrexham to the ground until at least 30 June 2115.

Trust members voted overwhelmingly in December 2023 to give up the lease, but completion depended on legal sequencing and approvals. Purchases of two plots from Wrexham University and the Wales Government had to precede funding formalities for the Wrexham Gateway project, which provides £18 million in grants via Wrexham borough council and includes the new Kop. The Financial Conduct Authority also approved the lease transfer, and the club covered all legal costs.

Work on the £69.1 million, 7,500-capacity Kop at the town end is advancing, with opening planned sometime in 2027. Focus is then expected to shift to the other three stands, two dating from the 1970s and the Mold Road Stand from 1999. Full control allows Wrexham to plan a wider rebuild of the oldest international football stadium still in use.

Source: NY Times