Skip to main content

Wrexham's new stand delayed

Wrexham’s new Kop stand will not be open for the start of next season due to a series of hold-ups. The League Two club had been hoping to start work on the 5,500 capacity stand in June after demolishing the old terrace that had stood empty since 2008.

Government funding of around £25million has been pledged to the Gateway project, which is part of a wider scheme to transform a key corridor into the city that includes improvements to the nearby Wrexham General station.

However, no building work has been done on the site since the demolition work took place during the final months of last season.

Four new floodlights, however, were added in the summer to bring the Racecourse Ground up to EFL standards following promotion.  No start date for the new stand is in place for what is expected to be a 12-month job.

Among the hold-ups has been the need to relocate an electrical sub-station that powers the student accommodation blocks that sit behind the main stand. An existing sewer also has to be diverted away from the land, with discussions ongoing with Welsh Water and Admiral Taverns, who own The Turf pub that sits right next to the stadium.

Other conditions that must be met before work can commence include the transfer of the lease for the Racecourse to the club from the Wrexham Supporters’ Trust (WST), the group who were bought out by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in February 2021.

The delays are a blow to Wrexham, who have sold out every League Two fixture since being promoted last season. Demand regularly out-strips the supply of tickets and a new Kop stand is seen as the only solution.

There is no doubt that the success of the club has been a boost to the local economy.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion.  Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs.  An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...