Wrexham receive £18m in taxpayer funding for stadium refurb despite wealth of Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds & Rob Mac

The Welsh outfit have, as reported by The Times, been awarded considerable non-repayable grants as they work on restructuring a venue that had become a little tired. It is claimed that “the amount of money received by Wrexham in state aid vastly outstrips public spending on any other football club in England and Wales”.

The Red Dragons were first awarded £3.8m ($5m) by Wrexham county borough council a year after Reynolds and Mac completed their stunning takeover of the club in 2021. A second payment of £14m ($18m) was made in September 2025.

Said funds have been passed on as Wrexham work on the construction of a Kop Stand - with the original structure having been flattened some time ago - alongside new floodlights and a playing surface that will allow the stadium to host international football and rugby matches.

The Welsh government has been working on a £25m ($33m) regeneration project that centres on Wrexham General station - which sits next to the Racecourse. The Times reports that “it was not known that the vast majority of the state aid would be provided directly to the club”.

A previous bid for state help through the government’s levelling-up fund was rejected, with it suggested that the project in Wrexham would need to be equally split between public and private sectors - creating £3 of public benefit for every £1 invested.

Documents supporting the latest award of £14m state that there is now “no incentive for the private sector to pursue the project”. It went on to say: “The subsidy is therefore necessary to overcome this market failure to allow the redevelopment and contribute towards the objective of developing the economy of Wrexham.”

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The Welsh government bought the land in question back in 2020 to help facilitate the building of a new Kop stand - with the plan being to bring other events, such as concerts, to the area.

Welsh councils have since been warned that they are “at risk of becoming financially unsustainable”. It is claimed that funding pressures will “squeeze services and inevitably lead to redundancies” across the working population.

Wrexham are not, however, the first football club to receive public money. Swansea City part-funded their Liberty Stadium home through grants.

The Red Dragons have said of their venture: “The impact of these improvements, and the ability to host international sporting events in North Wales, will create both a catalyst for local job creation and provide an overall economic uplift to the region due to the increased number of visitors attracted to the events and their economic activity while they are in the area.”

Local councils maintain that they only got involved because a “self-financed redevelopment of the ground” would not have delivered a final outcome which was “appropriate for international matches”.

The Welsh government said: “Public sector funding will make the crucial difference between the club satisfying league requirements and meeting the more demanding international fixture standards.

“This investment helps create a venue that can host competitive international football at the world’s oldest international stadium, boosting the local economy and delivering a fitting landmark for Wrexham.”

The Red Dragons are hoping that the Racecourse will soon play host to Premier League football, with a historic run of three successive promotions lifting the club out of the National League and into the Championship.

Reynolds and Mac have helped to finance that meteoric rise - with another record-breaking transfer spend being overseen during the summer of 2025 - while the award-winning ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary series has opened up a window to the world and allowed a global fan base to be built.