Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny turned the fortunes of a failing Welsh football team in less than three years, but the success of their business wasn’t just about money – it changed communities .
Like many small British towns, especially former mining towns, major thoroughfares have disappeared over the past few decades, community hotspots have been ravaged by public budget cuts and for For many people, football teams have become the only constant – even if that constant is to keep losing. Wrexham AFC is one such team: founded in 1864, it is the oldest club in Wales and the third oldest professional football team in the world, and the team’s stadium, School horse racing, is the oldest stadium still hosting international matches.
Watch the trailer for Welcome to Wrexham
After mismanagement and relegation, it fell into 15 years of relegation until 2020 when RR McReynolds LLC – a joint venture owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny – bought Wrexham AFC for 2.5 million dollars with the approval of Supporters’ Trust members. In the nearly three years since then, the team has doubled its attendance and in April 2023, following a thrilling 3-1 win over Boreham Wood, the team were promoted to League Two after winning the League Cup. Nation.
But aside from the club’s fortunes in terms of financial condition and circumstances, the biggest change Lady Luck – or Ryan and Rob – has had is the growing prosperity of the city itself.
“What Rob and Ryan did was get the locals to trust the community,” Richard Watkins, a local businessman who owns The Fat Boar, tells HELLO! “I’ve always been a firm believer that we have a great city, but maybe what we need is a little bit of stardust to push the whole region in the right direction, and as a city, we ready for that.”
© Getty Images Ryan and Rob celebrate Wrexham’s promotion with the National League trophy
In fact, Ryan and Rob’s investment has clearly always been more than just the football club, with Richard sharing how the pair “absolutely” want to be loved in the city, starting with sending gin and a handwritten personal message to local companies before they even bought the whole team.
Wrexham is now a name most people know, thanks to Ryan and Rob and their Disney+/Hulu documentary Welcome to Wrexham, their club buying overview, options the difficulty they had to take to make it work and doubts and skepticism flourished and quickly disappeared in the community.
© GettyBlake Lively with husband Ryan to Wales to support Wrexham
“It’s hard to describe, but economically [Welcome to Wrexham] that’s a big boost because now we have a lot of tourists from North America and Australia, as well as a lot of people from the UK,” said Wayne Jones, owner of The Turf, a local pub just outside the iconic grounds that appear many in the series added..
“And locally, it also has a positive impact on the attitudes of people who actually live here because the football team is doing well and the local economy is doing well; what Ryan and Rob did. Being in such a short time is a magical time.”
The success of a football team can’t just rest on the shoulders of two men, but anyone who grew up in a small town knows, when the local football team thrives, so does the community.
“Before, during and after game day, there were a lot of Canadians, a lot of Americans eating and drinking, but it was like a cherry on top because the great thing Ryan and Rob encouraged was the local community to come out. We Richard, who owns six businesses in the area, said: “I live in a world with so much negativity, but then you have these two people doing everything they can to promote push your homeland forward.”
Maybe you like it too
Welcome to Wrexham: Everything we know about Season 2 so far
Welcome to Wrexham: Everything we know about Season 2 so farBut it’s not just those in the food and beverage industry that profit. Laura Evison has worked at the Regent House of Flowers since the age of 16. Now, more than three decades later, she’s shocked by the changes she’s seen in a few short years and believes the pair have purposefully focused on the whole community and not just soccer fans. stone.
© Eddie Keogh – FAWrexham fan with new masks featuring Wrexham owners Rob McElhenney (left) and Ryan Reynolds (right),
The Regent House of Flowers is among six properties including the Miners’ Rescue Station, the Farm Shop, and the Bellis Brothers Horticultural Center. , and Daniel Morris Butchers have decided to sell 2,000 limited edition shirts to celebrate Wrexham’s promotion back to the Football League earlier in year 2023.
“What Rob and Ryan do is not just for Wrexham AFC, it affects the town, they really care and care about helping local businesses. We are not oriented towards football or food. drink but [including us] it made it possible for us to celebrate with the rest of the city,” says Laura, “it’s a nice old-fashioned way of doing business where people communicate without social media.
“There’s been a nice buzz for the city and that’s the good thing about what they’ve done; the areas have changed.”
© Simon Stacpoole/OffsideWrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds (centre) talks with film director Joe Russo (left) and actor Paul Rudd (right) at the team’s 2022 pitch.
Business is booming on the once-quiet high street, with new shops and cafes catering to new visitors, as well as local tourist attractions including Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, World Heritage Site gender.
“Their influence has made the area flourish because even outside of match days, there are guests coming here – they have spread our story around the world. From a point of view marketing, how much would it cost to hire Ryan Reynolds to advertise a product? I shudder to think how much it would cost, the numbers would be astronomical – and we all got it for free! ” Richard joked.
No season is quite the same as last and a bad game – good or bad – can turn the tide, but this streak of success is something Wayne intends to enjoy for as long as possible.
“I really don’t allow myself to think about the future because we’ve had so many dark years in the past that I think it’s right for us to enjoy our little success!” I said.
Maybe you like it too
- Inside Ryan Reynolds ‘Celebrating Crazy’ After Wrexham Promotion
Inside Ryan Reynolds ‘Celebrating Crazy’ After Wrexham Promotion“We went up a division and we have a lot of divisions to pass before we get to where we want to be. We have to stay positive, but where we are now is on and on. night two to three years ago.”
Looks like there will always be a local beer waiting for Rob and Ryan in Wrexham.
Categories: Entertaintment
Source: HIS Education