Welcome to Terracottapolis

Wrexham AFC, founded in 1864 and therefore one of the oldest professional football clubs in the world, can boast playing at the world's oldest international football stadium that still hosts international matches: the Racecourse Ground, now STōK Cae Ras. While this history is a source of pride for the club and the 45,000 residents of the North Wales town of Wrexham, it took the club's purchase by two North American actors, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, in 2021 to make Wrexham AFC a familiar name around the world. More precisely, fame came when the pair turned their unlikely ownership of the team into a documentary TV series, Welcome to Wrexham, which started airing in 2022 and has so far seen three seasons, with a fourth on the way. 

At the time of the purchase, Wrexham AFC was playing in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, but in the three years since they have been promoted to the third level, EFL League One. The team's success and media attention led to new sponsorships, both on their jerseys and in the stands, with STōK Cold Brew Coffee becoming the Racecourse's first ever title sponsor in 2023. That same year, while the club was awaiting planning permission for a new Kop Stand for standing fans, a temporary Kop Stand was erected at the east end of the stadium, accompanying the three other seated stands and bringing the overall capacity of STōK Cae Ras to approximately 13,400. This week's unveiling of plans for the new Kop Stand indicates planning permission has been obtained and the club is moving forward with the construction of the new structure, though no construction timeline was included with the announcement.

The new five-story stand will provide space for 5,500 standing fans as well as hospitality seating and accessibility seating. The cantilevered roof will shelter the fans but also support video screens, facing both the stand and the pitch. The rear and sides of the new Kop Stand will be clad in glass and patterned brick, the latter meant to pay homage to Wrexham's “Terracottapolis” nickname that arose from the production of brick, tile, and terracotta in the town from the mid-19th century until around 2008. The southeast corner of the brick facade will incorporate the club's dragon crest. Further responding to the Kop Stand facing the center of town and being set back a distance from Crispin Lane, the project also includes a new public plaza; this match-day fan space will double as a community space the rest of the year.