Sept 21 (Reuters) – Wrexham’s Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have purchased the Turf pub, the historic venue beside the Racecourse Ground that has become a familiar backdrop in the club’s rise and the award-winning Welcome to Wrexham documentary series co-produced by and starring the owners.
The deal, agreed between Wrexham Holdings and Admiral Taverns, brings the club, its stadium and the pub where Wrexham was founded in 1864 under common ownership.
“The acquisition of The Turf will help protect the historic pub by incorporating the club, the Racecourse Ground and The Turf under a single ownership, whilst allowing for further investment into the fan experience in and around matchdays,” Wrexham said in a statement.
The Turf, then known as the Turf Hotel, hosted the meeting at which Wrexham was formed in October 1864. The pub has remained a fixture of club life ever since and, in the early years players used it as a changing room before matches.
The venue’s connection to the Racecourse Ground was once so close that patrons could watch games from a balcony overlooking the pitch before redevelopment of the Mold Road Stand in 1999.
Reynolds, the Canadian actor best known for the Deadpool films, and American McElhenney, creator and star of the long-running comedy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia who recently changed his name to Rob Mac, bought Wrexham in 2021 when the club were in England’s fifth tier.
Wrexham have since achieved three consecutive promotions to return to the second tier for the first time since 1982—where they narrowly missed the playoff spots last season and currently occupy 14th position in the Championship.
(Reporting by Paras J. Haji in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
