With progress on the new Kop stand made this week, it’s time to dream! The oldest international stadium in the world has a storied history, and is looking forward to an even more remarkable future.
Obviously, we have to be realistic. We’re not going to be building our own Emirates Stadium any time soon. However, realism isn’t what it used to be. Five years ago, we’d have had very different ambitions for a new Kop; fifteen years ago we were satisfied simply to get up in the morning and find we still had a stadium to play in.
That raises intriguing questions, the first of which is what would be an acceptable capacity for the SToK Cae Ras? I have to admit that, before the takeover, I’d have thought a capacity of around 10,000 would be sufficient. After all, we’d rarely sold out in the 20th Century!
How wrong I was!
We’ve talked for decades about tapping the latent potential of North- and Mid-Wales, attracting well-wishers from a wide arc to the west and south, turning armchair fans into believers, to paraphrase Jurgen Klopp.
It never got remotely close to happening. And then Rob and Ryan came along!
Now, I don’t know what upper limit to put on our matchday support. Rather inconveniently, that massive new fanbase is mostly spread around the Americas, Asia and Australasia, making regular attendance a bit of an ask!
However, our capacity of around 13,000 hasn’t been enough to cater for local demand, with the steady flow of international fans added on top, so we must expand.
Last season our average attendance in the league was 11,209, which essentially translates as a season of full houses. Remember, the temporary Kop wasn’t in operation for part of the season, so we didn’t have the capacity we do now.
You might be surprised, considering all the rose-tinted chat about the huge attendances we got in the “good old days” to learn that we’ve only exceeded that average three times in our history!
Top of the list, inevitably, is our remarkable 1977-78 season, with the subsequent season, our first in the second tier, next in line. Third best is the 1961-62 season, the first in which we earned promotion.
However, you could throw a Wrexham AFC-branded beach tower over the numbers: the 1977-78 average attendances is only 442 fans larger than our 5th largest, in 1947-48.
Furthermore, this season we’re on course to set a club record, as for the first time in our history we’re averaging over 12,000 per game. That figure is restricted by our capacity; who knows what numbers we’d attract if that wasn’t the case?
I know some gaps appeared in the Fourth Wall temporary stand in recent games, but there are a number of extenuating circumstances, not least the discomfort of being in an open stand when the temperatures are sub zero and it’s pouring down!
One of my most enjoyable football evenings was spent at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, getting covered in thick snow in an uncovered section while watching Bayern play Borussia Dortmund. The novelty was a major part in that, though: I wouldn’t want to make a fortnightly habit of it!
That was a ground which was undoubtedly designed with the aesthetics put firmly ahead of fan comfort, something we don’t need to worry about ourselves, appealing as a glass carapace winding its way round the pitch, then from the Mold Road to Southsea, leaving the Tech End open to the elements, might sound.
Back to real life, although sometimes it’s hard to tell if that’s where we are or if it’s just fantasy. Our history is of limited value when gauging our new requirements.
We’re in uncharted territory. Rob and Ryan are exploring just how much support there is out there and will have detailed data to guide them. However, the truth is that even their number-crunchers would admit that it’s impossible to accurately establish where our upper limit lies.
That’s what makes the debate about re-entering European competition so intriguing. Do we grab the enticing option on the table, and in doing so throw away a future dream of competing in the Champions League? I know that sounds insane, but everything that has happened to us this decade is mad, isn’t it?
That’s my point: I just don’t know what’s realistic any more!
We’ve committed to becoming a UEFA Category 4 Stadium, which is the top level of the rating system. However, that is the standard required to host group stage UEFA games, so we won’t be restricting ourselves purely to meeting that standard.
If you want to know what a Category 4 stadium feels like, soak in the Shrewsbury derby: The New Meadow meets that standard as it’s hosting TNS’ Conference League games.
For a more exciting glimpse of what’s possible, take a look at Populous’ website, and marvel in the incredible projects they’ve led. Obviously, they’re not going to build another Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for us, but the level of detail they explore in their work is genuinely exciting.
I met with Populous’ exploratory expedition, and they gave a strong sense of being willing to listen to the fans and conduct a thorough consultation process.
They even spoke to Barnsley fans in the away end to get a sense of what visiting fans expect from a visit! I assume their first request was that somehow the lay-out would hamper Ollie Rathbone’s ability to hit injury time winners!
In a nutshell, I got a strong sense that these are people we’ll be able to rely upon to produce something we’ll be very happy with. Something which will do justice to the oldest international football stadium in the world and a town which so many have taken to their hearts.
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