Topics: Wrexham, Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, Football
The incredible financial impact that Ryan Reynolds and Robert McElhenney have had on the city of Wrexham’s tourism has been revealed – and fans will be stunned.
The actors put a bid in to buy the club in November 2020 and completed the deal after receiving 98.6% of the 2,000 Wrexham supporters' trust votes in February 2021 when the takeover was completed.
Since then, their stewardship of the Welsh side has been hugely successful.
Under the guidance of manager Phil Parkinson, the side achieved back-to-back promotions from the National League to League Two in 2023 before repeating the feat in 2024.
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The Red Dragons are on course to achieve a third straight promotion as they sit second in League One currently.
Not only have the North American owners done wonders for the football team, but the city’s tourism industry has also benefitted from the heightened media attention surrounding the club.
According to the Sun, 2,000,000 visitors – an increase of 21% - spent around £179m in the city in 2023, supporting over 1,700 hospitality jobs.
Previously, in 2020, the revenue from tourism was £49m.
The club’s fortunes are now closely followed by American audiences following their ‘Welcome to Wrexham Disney+ documentary’.
Joe Bickerton, Wrexham County Borough Council destination manager, explained: "The Welcome to Wrexham documentary has acted as a catalyst for many - and the city has stepped up to embrace visitors.
"People might come because they’ve seen certain aspects on the documentary, or they might now be interested to see what Wrexham is all about."
“Last year, we were the best-performing local authority in Wales for visitor growth,” he added.
“We see 21% as an anomaly; we usually see growth of 5 or 6 per cent.”
The numbers show that the City, based in North Wales, has seen an upturn in tourism-based revenue of £90m compared to 2012.
Reynolds and McElhenney are also launching ‘Wrexham Lager’ in the US – and will sell the product to 29 states.
Previously, the pair even discussed expanding Wrexham's Racecourse stadium, which would no doubt further the city’s reach in terms of potential visitors.
“We have a plan in place right now that would eventually work from stand to stand,” said McElhenney.
“So eventually, you get all four sides, and it’s hard to say for sure, but we think we could get between 45,000 and 55,000 people in there.”
