National League football club Wrexham AFC has reached a heads of terms agreement to purchase the freehold of its home stadium, the Racecourse Ground.
Wrexham made the announcement yesterday (Wednesday), which marked one year since the club was taken over by Hollywood actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.
The club said that discussions with Wrexham Glyndwr University to purchase the freehold are at an advanced stage, with the purchase expected to be completed by the end of March.
Upon completion of the deal, the freehold will return to Wrexham for the first time since August 11. The deal has been reached after a fan survey completed in November found that 94% of respondents would support the club’s purchase of the Racecourse Ground.
McElhenney and Reynolds, who serve as co-chairmen of the club, have confirmed that they will ensure that protection is provided in the various agreements to ensure that the stadium remains Wrexham’s home until at least 2115, unless a move away is necessary because the ground is no longer capable of meeting the club’s requirements.
The co-chairmen said: “It was clear even before we bought Wrexham AFC that bringing the Racecourse Ground back to the club was massively important for the fans who’ve come through the turnstiles to support the Red Dragons.
“There is nothing more symbolic than owning your own home and while Wrexham Glyndwr University have always been supportive of our ambition, we are delighted to now have control of our own destiny.
“The backing we received in the supporter’s survey was the ultimate vote of confidence and was all the motivation we needed to provide the loan funding to make this happen. We would like to thank Wrexham Glyndwr University for their support and for being such good neighbours to the club.”
In May last year, Wrexham appointed AFL Architects to develop the Racecourse Ground as the club moved into a new era under its high-profile ownership group. The Racecourse Ground is the world’s oldest international football stadium that still hosts international games.
Image: Markbarnes/CC BY-SA 3.0/Edited for size
