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Wrexham CEO Michael Williamson has disclosed that he turned down a request from Ryan Reynolds to incorporate a hidden room inside the club's upcoming Kop Stand.
Construction is currently in progress on the new $95 million Kop Stand, which will initially accommodate 5,500 extra fans, with plans already filed to expand its capacity to 7,500.
Wrexham co-chairmen Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have both played a significant role in the development, with the new stand set to open next year. However, the fact that the two Hollywood celebrities own the Welsh club hasn't meant they've gotten everything they wished for from the project.
Williamson disclosed that Reynolds had requested a hidden room be built within the Racecourse Ground that could serve as a hotel room during his visits to North Wales before being converted into an entirely different space throughout the day.
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Although the Wrexham CEO admitted he found the concept appealing, he ultimately shot down the proposal.
"Ryan wanted, like, a speakeasy kind of secret room in the new Kop," he told That Wrexham Podcast. "So he wanted to basically have this hotel room that no one knew about. He or Rob would stay in it, and then during the day it would convert to not being a bedroom. It would be something normal that no one would ever know about.
"They'd walk in and not realize it's actually the bedroom, which is a brilliant idea, but I'm like, 'It's not happening."
When Will the New Kop Stand Open?
Wrexham still aim to open the stand at a limited capacity during the closing months of the 2026–27 season, though the full launch is not anticipated until the 2027–28 campaign.
The new 5,500-seat Kop Stand will return the Racecourse Ground to a four-sided stadium and could push the overall capacity to just above 18,000 should a separate planning application to expand the stand to 7,500 seats receive approval.
The total cost of the project is anticipated to reach approximately $95 million, with Wrexham contributing $67.62 million. The Red Dragons have also secured a contentious $23.46 million grant from the Welsh government, which will assist the club in meeting the UEFA Category 4 criteria needed to bring competitive men's international fixtures back to Wrexham.
"The plan is that the Kop will be open and fully operational in that August period for the 2027–28 season," Williamson said earlier this summer. "We are working diligently with the city, as well as the contractors, to see if, even with a minimal number of seats, we can open it without the full range of services or amenities the Kop will eventually have, but still provide seats for people to use during matches as soon as possible.
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"If we're fortunate, maybe that's something that could happen in February, March or April. That could be very important and beneficial for the club if we're making a push for the playoffs, allowing even a few hundred to 1,000 supporters to use those seats. But that's still not a guarantee—we're continuing to work through it.
"That's what we hope to achieve, and that's what we're working toward. Ultimately, though, we need to balance that with ensuring it doesn't affect our ability to fully open in August 2027. That's the more important milestone in the project. We need to make sure it is fully operational and running on all cylinders for the start of that season.
"... If we're able to do that while also opening a few seats from match to match, then we'll certainly look to make that happen."