Wrexham has officially revealed that their Kop stand at the Racecourse Ground will not be ready as planned. The League Two club saw the 2024/25 season as the inaugural campaign with the new stand. However, delays occurred due to issues with the construction company involved in the remodeling.
“The new Kop will not be open for the start of the 2024/25 season with a projected build period of 12 months from commencement on site,” Wrexham announced on Wednesday. “There is no date for starting on site. Several matters need to be resolved before that can be confirmed.”
“To enable a contract to build the Kop to be signed, the grant funding agreement from Wrexham County Borough Council needs to be finalized and the club satisfied that the conditions attached to the funding offer can be fulfilled. It is hoped that these negotiations will be completed before the end of October 2023.”
Wrexham construction of Kop started back in January
Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney previously revealed plans to renovate the stand to help improve the stadium and boost seating capacity. The new Kop will eventually hold around 5,500 seats. Demolition initially began back in January. Nevertheless, there are now significant delays after the construction company involved went bankrupt.
Construction company also worked on Liverpool’s Anfield
Buckingham Construction Group recently filed an administration notice in August. The move signifies they are in a dire financial situation. The company previously posted a turnover of around $820 million just two years ago. However, Buckingham has now claimed that they have paused work due to “rapidly escalating contract losses.”
Buckingham’s current situation also affected Liverpool’s recent renovations of Anfield. Northampton Town contracted the company to work on its stadium too.
Although Wrexham did not specifically name Buckingham in their statement on Wednesday, the Welsh side did mention the company back in 2021. The construction company was making several alterations to Racecourse Ground. Along with the Kop renovations, Buckingham was also in charge of enlarging the arena’s concourse and improving lighting.
PHOTO: IMAGO & Sportimage
