Wrexham’s Hollywood owners have certainly opened up their wallets for the Welsh soccer club. But Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney (above) have also been putting in time, effort, and hard work—and it’s paying off.

After earning promotion for the second straight year, Wrexham will bump up to League One this fall, which is the third tier of English soccer, two steps down from the club’s ultimate goal of the Premier League. To get there, and survive along the way, Reynolds and McElhenney know their club, the focal point of the popular FX series Welcome to Wrexham, has to keep growing on and off the pitch. 

That’s why the Racecourse Ground, where Wrexham plays its home matches, is adding seats, first going up from about 12,000 to 16,000, and then much, much more. “We have a plan in place right now that would eventually work from stand to stand, so eventually you get all four sides,” McElhenney said in an interview with Collider. “It’s hard to say for sure, but we think we could get between 45,000 and 55,000 people in there.” 

A venue of that size would put Wrexham on par with the likes of Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium (55,000) and above Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge (40,000). “Like, the whole town could come to the game,” Reynolds quipped. According to a 2021 census, the population of Wrexham County Borough was estimated to be around 135,100.

The Next Domino

Substantial stadium expansion talk adds to other recent growth plans from Reynolds and McElhenney, including the announcement of a three-match North American tour for Wrexham this summer, the first international tour for the club’s women’s side, and the purchase of a minority stake in Liga MX team Club Necaxa—the initial step in creating a multiclub portfolio that Wrexham would be at the center of.

“Phase 1 of what we’re trying to do is probably coming to a close now,” Humphrey Ker, Wrexham’s executive director, said during an appearance on British show TalkSport. “And phase 2 is starting, and we’ve got to be on our game.”

That means a better scouting department, more sources of revenue, and a more refined technical staff, which Ker admitted Wrexham doesn’t have yet. “We’ve sort of bludgeoned our way out of the National League and out of League Two,” he said. “We went out and signed the best League One players that we could persuade to drop down to us.” 

Now, halfway to the Premier League, the challenge will be competing with more clubs that have bigger stadiums, larger fan bases, and a better on-field product. “We’re about to get into an environment where we won’t be the biggest fish in this pond,” Ker said.

Before Red Bull, Max Verstappen, and tens of thousands of racing fans begin to take over South Florida for this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, one thing is clear: Everyone wants a piece of Formula One. 

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, who also owns the Miami F1 race and the venue that hosts it, Hard Rock Stadium, is said to have recently entertained a $10 billion offer for control of those sporting assets, according to USA Today. Ross declined the offer, per the report. It’s unclear what the individual values of the Dolphins, Miami GP, and Hard Rock Stadium would have been in that deal.

Meanwhile, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said that, despite the sport already reaching its maximum of 24 races per year, more than 35 new venues have shown interest in hosting a race, with 11 being formidable contenders. “Seriously, the request is very, very big,” Domenicali told ESPN. Those markets might include U.S. cities Chicago and New York, as well as international destinations like South Korea, Thailand, China, South Africa, Rwanda, Malaysia, and India, per ESPN. Domenicali said not to expect a fourth race in the U.S., in addition to Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas.

A Hot Commodity

The widespread interest in F1 comes after the sport saw total race attendance spike to 6 million in 2023, and revenue soared to $3.22 billion, according to owner Liberty Media. Last year also marked the debut of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, as F1 grew to its capped-out 24-race schedule. The Miami race is entering its third year, while F1 has raced in Austin since ’12.