The need for further transfer business loomed large over the Racecourse following the 1-1 draw with Watford that frustrated fans on the first home afternoon of the new Championship campaign. But, dominating the skyline of the ground - and the city - a towering, tangible reminder of the scale of the ambition at the north Wales club. The new £70m Kop stand is still lacking fans, still not completed, but the concrete and steel shape of an exciting future was obvious when both players and fans took their positions for the first fixture of the season at their changing home.
"It's exciting because it's a real symbol of hope ahead," said chief executive Michael Williamson. Parkinson admits no guarantees of Wrexham signings Criticism over £18m grant for Wrexham football stand A-list owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac were in attendance to cast an eye over the development that has moved apace over the summer months in preparation for full opening next season. The aim will be that it opens in a Premier League environment, to match the elite-level spec of the stand that will come close to doubling the 164-year-old venue's current capacity, as well as ticking off a number of top-level stadium criteria.
It is still some way off, with the ongoing building meaning no fans were behind the goal that Wrexham attacked in vain against Watford, and left manager Phil Parkinson pondering if more transfer business can be done before this Friday's visit of Birmingham City. The Kop is not the only thing still building at Wrexham. But, as Reynolds cast a pre-game eye at the structure that already dwarfs the rest of the Racecourse - despite having not yet been topped out - it was a reminder of the strides being made in double-quick time.
When the celebrity pair completed their now infamous takeover of non-league Wrexham in 2021, the ground's old Kop stood abandoned. Once home to the most loyal and vocal of supporters, it had been condemned and out of bounds for fans for more than a decade. With Reynolds previously describing the Racecourse as "a church", and both owners always keen to link the club's revival with the fortunes of the city itself, there was never a chance that an out-of-town stadium was going to be preferred to enhancing what was already there.
It might have been easier, if more expensive as Friday's visitors Birmingham and their own US-ownership with their £3bn plans for a new ground will testify. Even still, planning has been painstakingly slow, and initial building work was not straightforward. But, designed by the company behind Wembley and the Las Vegas Sphere, the vision presented on paper two years ago is now taking shape.
"Now you can actually see a physical thing up behind the goal, I think it's a reminder just how quickly the club is progressing," said midfielder Ollie Rathbone. "It's like a symbol of how exciting this period has been for the club and for the town and how it's hopefully not going to stop and it's just going to keep getting bigger." That is the aim, certainly for Reynolds and Mac who are willing to green-light further spending to try and see Wrexham go one better than last term, when they missed out on the play-offs on the final day of the season. Their turbo-charged run to this point has been backed by big budgets but not to the level where money can be thrown at a vanity project.
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