Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac have bought Wrexham’s iconic Turf pub, helping to solve a major stadium dilemma and protecting the club’s 1864 birthplace
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac have snapped up plenty of property since landing in North Wales, but their latest deal might just be their ultimate masterstroke.
Wrexham AFC’s ownership group this week officially confirmed the purchase of The Turf pub from Admiral Taverns. To the casual observer, it looks like two A-listers adding a famous boozer to their portfolio.
But in reality, it’s a crucial piece of a the puzzle that helps Wrexham’s long-awaited stadium transformation immeasurably. While progress is now well underway, the club’s grand vision of building a new 7,750-seat Kop stand has previously been bogged down by logistical headaches.
Expanding the Racecourse Ground isn’t as simple as just laying bricks and requires total control of the tight footprint along Mold Road.
By bringing the pub directly under Wrexham Holdings, Ryan and Rob have secured vital boundary land.
Control over the perimeter allows the club to completely revamp matchday access, expand the outdoor fan zone and manage thousands of extra fans flooding through the turnstiles once capacity shoots past 18,000.
It turns a tight bottleneck into a sprawling, modern matchday hub. The purchase could also come in very handy when it comes to revamping the Mold Road Stand itself.
As the club confirmed, buying the boozer is a direct continuation of their strategy to “protect the future of the club and its interests by ring fencing key areas related to the life of the club.”
Whenever wealthy owners start buying up local haunts, alarm bells ring for traditional supporters. Will it be turned into an overpriced sports bar, lose its gritty Welsh charm or even be knocked down?
In the case of The Turf, which is not just any local, there’s not a chance of any of those things happening.
It’s literally the birthplace of Wrexham AFC, where founding members met back in 1864. Players even used it as a changing room as recently as the 1940s.
Crucially, local legend Wayne Jones, the landlord who became an international celebrity via the Welcome to Wrexham documentary, is staying firmly behind the bar.
Jones, who has run the pub for 20 years, said: “As landlord of The Turf for the past 20 years and a die-hard Wrexham fan, securing the pub’s future under Wrexham Holdings is great news for all Wrexham fans.”
He added: “I look forward to continue running The Turf and bringing its unique mix of history, atmosphere and sometimes Hollywood stardust to the next generation of Wrexham fans and locals alike.”
This isn’t an isolated spending spree. Reynolds and Mac previously bought the Racecourse freehold, snapped up The Rock stadium to give the women’s team a permanent home and poured cash into new training facilities at Colliers Park.
Minority investor Eric Allyn nailed it on behalf of the ownership group when he said: “By bringing The Turf into the group, we are securing the long-term future of the pub and with it preserving its history and that of the club.”
From hosting crisis meetings when the club faced extinction in 2011 to hosting Prince William, Will Ferrell and Channing Tatum, The Turf has seen it all.
Now, with the birthplace of the club under the same roof as the stadium itself, Ryan and Rob haven’t just solved their Kop space crunch – they’ve ensured Wrexham’s soul stays firmly intact as they march up the football pyramid.