Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny turned around the fortunes of a failing Welsh soccer team in less than three years, but the success of their business opportunity has turned out to be greater than just money – it's also changed an entire community.
Like many small British towns, especially former mining towns, high streets have disappeared over the past few decades, community hotspots have been decimated with public budget cuts, and for many, soccer teams have become the only constant – even if the constant is that they keep losing. Wrexham AFC was one such team: founded in 1864, it is the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest professional association soccer team in the world, and its home stadium, the Racecourse Ground, is the oldest stadium to continue to host international games.
After poor management and relegation, it had slipped in 15 years to the non-league until 2020 when RR McReynolds LLC – a joint corporation owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny – bought Wrexham AFC for $2.5 million with approval from the Supporters' Trust members. In the almost three years since, the team has increased attendance by more than double, and in April 2023, after a thrilling 3-1 win against Boreham Wood, the team were promoted to League Two after winning the National League trophy.
But aside from the club's fortunes financially and circumstantially, the biggest change that Lady Luck – or Ryan and Rob – bought was the increased boom to the town itself.
"What Rob and Ryan have done is actually make the local people believe in the community," Richard Watkins, a local businessman who owns The Fat Boar, told HELLO! "I've always been a firm believer that we've got a great town, but perhaps what we needed was that little bit of stardust to give the whole area an absolute push in the right direction, and as a town we were ready for it."
© Getty ImagesIn fact, Ryan and Rob's investment has clearly always been about more than just a soccer club, with Richard sharing how the pair "absolutely" had a desire to ingratiate themselves with the town which began by them sending gin and a handwritten individual note to local companies before they ever purchased the team.
Now, Wrexham is a name almost everyone knows, thanks to Ryan and Rob and their Disney+/Hulu documentary Welcome to Wrexham, an all-access look into their decision to buy the club, the tough choices they had to make for it to work, and the doubts and skepticism that flourished and quickly disappeared within the community.
© Getty"It's sort of difficult to describe but economically [Welcome to Wrexham] has been a huge boost because we get a lot of tourism now from North America and Australia, and various people from the UK," added Wayne Jones, landlord of The Turf, the local pub that sits right outside the iconic grounds and features heavily in the series.
"And locally, it's also had such a good positive vibe on the attitudes of the people that actually live here because the soccer team is doing well and so the local economy is doing well; what Ryan and Rob have done in such a short amount of time is miraculous."
The success of a soccer team can't be solely placed on the shoulders of two men but as anyone who grew up in a small town knows, when the local team is doing well, the community is at their best as well.
"Before, during and after game days there are loads of Canadians, loads of Americans eating and drinking, but that's kind of like the cherry on the top because the great thing that Ryan and Rob have encouraged is for the local community to start coming out in force as well. We live in a world at the moment where there's so much negativity but then you've got these two guys who are doing everything in their power to push forward your home town," said Richard, who owns six businesses in the area.
But it's not just those in the food-and-drink industries that are benefitting. Laura Evison has worked at the Regent House of Flowers since she was 16. Now, over three decades on, she has been shocked by the changes she has seen in a short few years, and believes that the pair have intentionally made sure to focus on the entire community, and not just soccer fans.
© Eddie Keogh - The FARegent House of Flowers was among six businesses including The Miners Rescue Station, Bellis Brothers Farm Shop and Garden Centre , and Daniel Morris Butchers chosen to sell 2000 limited edition T-shirts to celebrate Wrexham’s promotion back to the Football League earlier in 2023.
"What Rob and Ryan are doing is not just for Wrexham AFC, it does affect the town, they're actually putting a lot of care and attention into helping the local businesses as well. We're not soccer orientated, or food or drink orientated, but [including us] brings us in to be able to celebrate with the rest of the town," says Laura, "which is a lovely old fashioned way of doing business where everybody's communicating without social media.
"There's a lovely buzz in the town and that's what's nice about what they've done; the areas have changed."
© Simon Stacpoole/OffsideBusiness is booming on the once quiet high street, with new shops and cafes catering to the new visitors, as well as the local tourist attractions including the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a world heritage site.
"Their impact has led to the area taking off because even outside of match days there are visitors here – they made our story worldwide. From a marketing point of view, how much would it cost for anybody to employ Ryan Reynolds to endorse the product? I dread to think how much that would cost, the figures would be astronomical – and we've all had it for free!" quipped Richard.
No one soccer season is the same as the previous, and one bad – or good – game can turn the fortunes around, but this run of success is one that Wayne is planning on enjoying for as long as he can.
"I'm not really allowing myself to think about the future because we've had so many dark years in the past that I think it's only right that we enjoy our little bit of success!" he said.
"We've gone up one division and we have many more divisions to go before we get to where we'd like to be. We have to stay positive but where we are now is night and day from two to three years ago."
Sounds like there will always be a pint of local beer waiting for Rob and Ryan in Wrexham.
