Wrexham would face “huge problems” if Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney “lose interest” and walk away, claims a football finance expert.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Famous chairmen arrived in 2021Have overseen meteoric riseWill they stick around long-term?WHAT HAPPENED?
The two Hollywood superstars remain very much committed to the Red Dragons cause for now, having experienced an emotional rollercoaster on the back of their stunning 2021 takeover at SToK Racecourse. They have pumped considerable funding into the club, while raising more through commercial deals and an award-winning documentary series, but the odd question has been asked of how long they will stick around.
AdvertisementGetty/GOALWHAT EXPERT SAID
Football finance expert Dr Rob Wilson has told of the tightrope Wrexham are walking after making their way back to League One: “Wrexham would face huge financial problems if their Hollywood owners walk away, that’s why Profitability and Sustainability Rules are so necessary. There was a time when Roman Abramovich owned Chelsea that he could have walked away and even if he didn’t want his money back they wouldn’t have been able to pay their player wages due to insufficient revenue. You would imagine that Wrexham have learnt some of those lessons, but equally if the owners were to walk away it would plunge Wrexham into kind of deep, deep challenges. That's why owner investment can be quite problematic if it's ever removed.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Wrexham are putting long-term plans in place to ensure that any financial holes are avoided, with Wilson claiming that a new stadium may be sought at some stage in a bid to raise more revenue and meet the demands of an ever-growing fanbase. He added: “A new stadium will be a necessity for Wrexham the higher they climb up the Football League, even though they have just increased their capacity over 15,000. But you don't go from a 15,000-seater stadium to a 40,000-seater stadium overnight. It costs a huge amount of money and requires a massive amount of financing, notwithstanding all of the permissions that you need in and around the area to to develop. It would be fascinating to know from the owners where their ceiling is actually, because it does reach a point of no return from small finance that you can get a bigger return on your investment to stuff you’re not going to get your money back on.”
Getty/GOALWHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?
Reynolds and McElhenney have overseen back-to-back promotions at Wrexham, taking them from the National League to the third tier, but have never shied away from the fact that further investment will be required at some stage if the club are to deliver on ultimate ambition of one day reaching the Premier League.