A Rough And Quirky Guide To Wrexham
Monday, 14th Sep 2026 21:38

Prior To last season, Saints had only played at Wrexham 3 times in their entire history, the last of those being in September 1979, the previous visits were in the late 1950's,now we go to the Racecourse Ground for the second time in 5 months

I was there in that League cup tie and also last season given that I was among only around 400 Saints that made the trip that night in the League Cup, and only 1,200 last year, very few Saints supporters will have been there, although I would suspect that most who go on Saturday were also there last April.

Southampton must have been a big attraction back in 1979 when we last visited the Racecourse Ground, as despite the Welsh club having been beaten 5-0 at the Dell a week earlier in the first leg of this League cup tie, the official attendance was 13,200, only 700 less than had been at the Dell.

On that night I would estimate that only the real die hard's maybe 400 tops, travelled up to support Saints, so given that this was over 47 years ago, I would imagine that very few of those that will have been there both after this game and in April will have attended all 3 fixtures.

The ground will have changed slightly since then, two of the stands remain, but both have had seats installed in what was the terraced paddock back in 1979.

The Mold Stand, running along one side was built in 1999 and what was the Kop, a terrace holding 9,500, is at the moment an barren plot of land awaiting a new 5,500 seater stand to be erected on it.

The Ground

At the moment the Racecourse Ground officially holds 12,600, but they rarely seem to reach that capacity, most crowds weigh in at the 10,500 mark, but of course when the new stand is completed that will increase the capacity by around 5,500.

It still has a very traditional look and feel about it as you would expect.

Up until 6 years ago, Wrexham had only had one average attendance over 5k (That being 5,033) since that 1979/80 season when we played there, that probably tells you something about the size and type of club Wrexham have traditionally been.

Without trying to sound patronising Wrexham is quite a small town in terms of population when compared to most others that host League clubs, the surrounding population is not massive and with easy road & rail links to both Liverpool & Manchester, United, Liverpool & Everton all have a big supporters base.

This demonstrates the problems with modern day football, how clubs can be picked up by the rich & famous and manipulated for their own gratification.

Wrexham are enjoying a golden period in their history, prior to this their previous best was 4 seasons in the 2nd tier between 1978/79 & 1982.

But do they have the support to fill a stadium that will increase it's capacity by over 50% when the new stand is completed, that we will have to wait and see.

Hollywood stars in town tripled their attendances overnight and when they pull out of town you can only guess what fate has in store for Wrexham I'm sad to say.

The Away Section

Saints fans will be situated in one corner of the Wrexham Lager Stand as we were last season, the 1,293 will be split into two section, in the front of the stand the seated paddock and the rear section.

Although two tiers, the back section is directly behind and not much higher than the front area, so it has the feel that the away support is all in one section.

From this perspective the view is good as you are close to the pitch and can make yourself heard, so the travelling Southampton supporters should be able to give the team some great backing.

The concourse is what you would expect from a stand built in 1972, indeed last season it seemed to be mainly outside and the travelling Saints fans found themselves, being penned into a compound at the back of the stand made up of portable metal fencing tied together by garden straps, somewhat dangerous in my opinion.

Rather than impressive and modern, it was very basic, it has the staples you would expect such as burgers, hot dogs and pies. But it does not does not sell alcohol, so if you like a drink you are going to be disappointed.

Getting There

By Car
The recommended route is 220 miles from Southampton, the same distance as Manchester, take the usual A34 North to Oxford and then M40 to Birmingham, then the M42 west to the M5 North and M6, just after Wolverhampton take the M54 and then the A5 North to Shrewsbury and join the A483 towards Wrexham

This should be a travel time of around 4 hrs 20 mins.

If you arrive early ), there is some street parking, but as always check for any restrictions. There is also parking available at the nearby Glyndwr University (£3) or there are a couple of private car parks in the area, charging in the region of £2, including NEWI on the Plas Coch Retail Park.

Sat Nav for Racecourse Ground
Mold Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AH

By Train
Depending on the route there are two train stations, Wrexham General Railway Station is located next to the ground and is only a few minutes’ walk away.

Wrexham Central is around 1/2 mile away.

Pubs Etc For Away Fans

The City centre is less than 1/2 mile from the ground and has a number of pubs, but near the ground there are:

The Turf – Mold Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AH
Maesgwyn Hall Club – Mold Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AF
Plas Coch – Plas Coch Road, Wrexham, LL11 2BW

Some Quirky Facts About Wrexham

1. Everyone knows the story of Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds takeover of the club and turning it into a soap opera and therefore Wrexham have their share of celebrity fans who know nothing about football and only heard of Wrexham and possibly Wales itself in the last few years, they include, Will Ferrell, Blake Lively, & Hugh Jackman.

2. Wrexham only has a population of 44,785, around the size of Winchester, around a quarter of that population will be in the ground on Tuesday evening, another quarter, they will include a plethora of Hollywood B Listers, a load of wanna be Influencers, packs of teenage girls and some actually Wrexham fans who have followed the club for years and can't bare to see it turned into a circus.

3. Wrexhams big rivals are Chester, which is about 10 miles away and in England, it is still legal in Chester to shoot a Welshman with a bow & arrow after dark if he is inside the City walls

4. Human activity in the Wrexham area dates back to the Mesolithic period (8000 to 4300 BC) No wise cracks here about not evolving much since, this is serious stuff.

5. The Battle of Chester circa 615/616 marked the beginning of a long struggle between the Welsh and English for territory in this part of Wales. During the eighth century, the Anglo-Saxon royal house of Mercia pushed their frontiers westwards and established the earth boundaries of Wat's Dyke and Offa's Dyke to the west of the present city.

This battle is being made into a film in 2026, to be filmed in the area and starring Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, think Braveheart with a Hollywood accent, actually that has already been done with Braveheart.

6. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) funded a major dual carriageway (the A483) bypassing Wrexham town centre and connecting it with nearby Chester and with England's trunk road network.

This remained traffic jam free till 1997 when the first motor car showroom opened in Wrexham .

7. Wrexham was granted city status in 2022 as part of the civic honours to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The event was turned into a netflix mini series called Liz In The City starring Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, Elizabeth II was played by Blake Lively and Boris Johnson by Hugh Jackman.

8. Everton have more season ticket holders living in Wrexham than Wrexham have.

9. So do Manchester United.

10. Possibly Liverpool as well.

11. Not Man City.

12. Wrexham Lager is not a bad drink and comes in 3 different strengths.

13. I may be wrong it was 5 months ago and a heavy night.

14, Famous Wrexham Landmarks include the Overton Arcade, General Market, The listed Border Brewery Chimney & the McElhenney/Reynolds House that featured in a series in 2018.

15. Famous Wrexhamians Include

Saint Richard Gwyn (1537–1584), Catholic martyr and Patron Saint of Wrexham, hung drawn and quartered in Wrexham. (Subject of a Netflix mini series currently in pre production)

Edwin Hughes (1830–1927), known as Balaclava Ned, the last survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava in the Crimea. ( Expect the latest remake of The Charge of the Light Brigade to come out soon.

Florence Missouri Caton (1875–1917), British nurse who served in Serbia during World War I (Second most famous nurse called Florence)

Andy Scott (born 1949), guitarist with 1970s glam rock band The Sweet ( first famous Wrexhamian that anyone would recognise, only those over 60 though. The film sure to be a Blockbuster, Wigwam Bam will be out in 2027, featuring Rob McElhenney as Andy Scott , Ryan Reynolds as Brian Connoly & Blake Lively as Suzi Quatro.

David Bower (born 1969), deaf actor, born locally, played David, the younger brother of Charles, in the comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral. ( Sometimes mistaken for David Bowie when he checks into hotels.