When McElhenney bought Wrexham with Reynolds in 2021, the actor had considered a number of different clubs throughout Europe in which to invest, but he chose Wrexham because of what he saw as similarities between the city and his hometown of Philadelphia.
“I grew up in South Philadelphia,” McElhenney said in the opening episode of “Welcome to Wrexham.” “The Philadelphia that I know and the Philadelphia as it identifies itself are people who work really hard for everything that they have.
“One of the things that was really attractive about Wrexham is, even though I’ve never been there, the town reminds me of Philadelphia. It’s a working-class town. It’s a blue-collar town that has had its ups and downs, and they haven’t had all the opportunities that a lot of other people have had. I feel like I know these people. I grew up with those people. I am one of those people.”
“Ryan and Rob have put a smile back on the face of Wrexham,” Michael Hett, an ex-miner and lead singer of The Declan Swans, told ESPN. “Football fans are always sceptical of people who want to buy their club and we have had our share of bad owners — one of them made it clear he wanted to knock the Racecourse Ground down and build a retail park — but with Ryan and Rob, we have hit the jackpot really.
“Our song is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but Wrexham had become known as ‘Spice Town’ and the club was going nowhere until Ryan and Rob arrived. But for the 2019-20 season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we would probably have been relegated out of the National League and that would have been the end of the club, so you can’t overstate the transformation since the new owners came in.”
It isn’t just the football club that have enjoyed the uplift that comes with being sprinkled by the McElhenney and Reynolds stardust.
Wrexham Lager was Britain’s first licenced lager and carried the name of what was then a small industrial town across the world in the 19th century. It also had the unenviable distinction of being the only lager available on the Titanic during its fateful maiden voyage in 1912. But thanks to its ongoing connection to the football club, Wrexham Lager is enjoying a renaissance of its days from the 19th century.
“The documentary has put us hugely on the map,” Joss Roberts, Wrexham Lager sales manager said. “It’s hard to quantify, but our overseas orders of merchandise have gone crazy and we’re selling beer more than we ever have.
“The supplies to the stadium for home games are three times what they used to be, but this week has been something else. The effect of Rob and Ryan on the town has been amazing in the way it’s made people feel about the place.”
After conceding in the first minute at home to Boreham Wood, Wrexham striker Paul Mullin scored twice in the second half to clinch promotion as National League champions. Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images There have been other positive stories Wrexham-based companies riding the wave of the club’s new global popularity. FI Real Estate invested £50 million in land in the city in January, with managing director Tim Knowles saying, “There’s never been a more exciting time to be in Wrexham than 2023.” Reynolds himself has also bought property in the area, recently acquiring a £1.5 million home in the village of Marford, a 10-minute drive from town.
The Declan Swans can identify with the booming Wrexham story. Prior to the club being taken over by celebrities, the group played local venues and were largely unknown outside North Wales. But that has all changed. “The first time the owners came over, Ryan shared one of our videos on TikTok,” Hett said. “It had had just over 1,000 views before he posted it, but it’s now been seen by over 18 million people. Unbelievable, really.
“‘Always Sunny in Wrexham’ is played before and after the home games now and Ryan has even got us down as a support act for the Kings of Leon when they play at the Racecourse Ground for two nights next month. I think the biggest crowd we have ever played to is about 700 people, so that will be a bit different for us!”
It has taken 15 years for Wrexham to reclaim their place in the EFL, but there is little doubt that the club have ambitions to quickly climb the divisions toward the Premier League. Reaching the summit of English football’s pyramid structure is a dream held by many, but getting there is a different matter, and Wrexham will face new challenges as they attempt to extend their Hollywood fairy tale.
In EFL League One and League Two, clubs must adhere to the salary cost management protocol (SCMP), which limits spending on wages to a proportion of turnover. Wrexham’s annual wage bill in the National League this season has been reported as being £3.6 million ($4.8m) — roughly £69,500 or $86,500 per week — and they may have to reduce that to comply with the League Two cap, which permits 55% of turnover on wages.
The pregame atmosphere on Saturday was buzzing as crowds packed the stadium and surrounding roads early in a bid to catch the team arrival. Courtesy of Mark Ogden / ESPN Wrexham’s overall revenue is also difficult to fully assess. In their first full season as owners, 2021-22, McElhenney and Reynolds grew the club’s turnover by 404% to just under £6 million ($7.5m). That figure is likely to grow this season, but it is not known whether the earnings from the “Welcome to Wrexham” series will be assigned to Wrexham’s accounts or separately to McElhenney and Reynolds. That will only become clear when the club’s next financial results are published later this year.
Preseason friendlies against Chelsea and Manchester United in the United States will help boost the club’s visibility and finances, but as Salford City have discovered since being promoted to the EFL in 2019, being a wealthy club in League Two is no guarantee of promotion to League One.
Salford, jointly owned by former Manchester United star players Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil Neville and David Beckham along with Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim, are now in their fourth season in League Two, despite having the biggest budget in the division. Salford are now on their fourth permanent manager since promotion to the EFL in 2019 and, despite ambitions to quickly climb the leagues, have failed to reach the League Two playoffs in three full seasons, although they are in contention to do so over their final two games of this campaign.
Kevin Ratcliffe, the former Wales and Everton captain, now watches Wrexham in his role as a pundit for BBC Radio Wales. Having also managed in the lower leagues with Chester City and Shrewsbury, he says that the path ahead will be challenging.
It wasn’t just the celebrity owners who showed up for Saturday’s party: movie star Paul Rudd was also on the scene to enjoy the festivities. Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images “Over the last two years since Rob and Ryan have been at the football club, they’ve had the opportunity to bring in players better than they’ve had, but they’ve probably got too big of a squad now,” Ratcliffe said. “It’s always easy to bring players in, but it’s harder to move players on, especially if they are on good wages.
“The investment they’ve put into the first team and to the manager can bring problems. The players at the club can be jealous of what’s coming in if they’re on maybe two or three times more than they are or even more.
“So far, it has gone well, but with every level you go up, the team will aim to be better, so the players have to enjoy it while they can. Enjoy being part of history, but the pressure will grow because there will be an expectancy to be promoted every year now.
“These are great times for Wrexham, though, and the whole region. I grew up in the area, so it’s nice that there are good vibes because there hasn’t been much to shout about over the years.”
Confirmation this week that the local council in Wrexham will contribute “substantial” funding toward the building of a new 5,500-capacity stand at the Racecourse Ground will enable the club to attract even more supporters to home games and generate more revenue, so the future does look increasingly bright.
“The club are getting crowds of 10,000 — it used to be 4,000 — so with that kind of support, Wrexham can go up another couple of levels,” said Ratcliffe.
It took 20 minutes for the supporters to vacate the pitch and allow the players and coaching staff to collect their medals and lift the National League champions’ trophy. During that time, the fans collected mementos of their own, taking videos and photographs; some even claimed pieces of turf. Some of the older fans stood and watched, taking in an occasion they may at times have felt would never happen.
One of them was Mickey Thomas, the former Manchester United, Chelsea, Everton and Wales midfielder, who ended his career at Wrexham in the 1990s. Thomas scored in the legendary FA Cup win against reigning champions Arsenal in 1992 which was, until this victory, the most memorable victory at the Racecourse Ground.
“This is amazing,” Thomas told ESPN. “What a night. Wrexham will be like a runaway train now.”
After the match, fans couldn’t help but ignore the requests to stay off the pitch, choosing to celebrate as one big happy mass before the team received the National League trophy. It took 20 minutes to clear the field. Courtesy of Mark Ogden / ESPN Midfielder Elliot Lee moved from EFL Championship team Luton Town to sign for Wrexham last summer, and he said that promotion justified his decision to drop down three divisions for the experience of this season.
“I moved away from family to be here, so when I saw them at the end, after getting through all the fans, tears were coming down from my eyes.” Lee said. “I wanted a new challenge when I left Luton and this was what I needed. It’s an incredible achievement and the atmosphere was unbelievable. We know how much this means to the people of Wrexham.”
None of this would have happened without Reynolds and McElhenney. Their investment and passion for the team has ignited something in the city that could take the club all the way up the football pyramid to the Premier League. But first, there is time for celebration.
“I’ve been in football for 20 years, and you don’t get too many days like this,” said goalkeeper Ben Foster. “Promotion doesn’t happen every season. I’ve told the players they have to go out and celebrate tonight — get drunk, enjoy it — because you never know if or when it will happen again.”
You really do never know. Nobody at Wrexham would have imagined back in 2008 that they would spend so long away from the EFL, so they can take nothing for granted. But with Reynolds and McElhenney involved, it really feels like this is the start of something at Wrexham. There will be more celebrations to enjoy in the years ahead.
