Rumours of a request to play this fixture Stateside were quickly denied, but there is no doubt Monday night’s clash at a sold-out St Andrew’s – live on Sky Sports Football – is League One’s blockbuster match of the season so far.
In anticipation, we look at the transformation of two clubs with dreams of stepping out of the wilderness and into the light.
The new stadium would be the jewel in the crown of a planned Sports Quarter in the city, which Wagner estimates will cost between £2-3bn. It would incorporate “training facilities for both men and women, a new academy, community pitches and commercial space to support innovative local businesses, all within walking distance to the city centre”.
“My timeframe is lunacy but we’ll look to get this completed in five years,” Wagner told BBC Sport earlier this year.
“Five years from August, we’d be in. In a perfect world, if everyone works with us at the same pace, we’re willing to work. I’m going to keep saying it, even if it makes people sweat. A lot of it is outside of our control, but that is the goal.”
It goes without saying that the aim is a Premier League return, though they will have to wait a little longer than hoped to add to their seven seasons in the division given the miserable relegation from the Championship last season.
Wrexham’s owners, meanwhile, have been more vocal about the fact they want it all.
“Our ultimate goal is to build a sustainable model that will allow us to not only get to the Premier League, but sustain in the Premier League and eventually win the Premier League and be in the Champions League.”
McElhenney has not minced his words.
He and Reynolds want a stadium to match those ambitions – but it will not involve moving to a new location, rather significant expansion works to take the SToK Cae Ras to a capacity of 55,000.
Reynolds has made it abundantly clear they are not in the project to make money, but that they will need “outside investment” in order to remain sustainable as the journey to rise up through the English football pyramid continues.
Investing millions in the squad to help the cause
This is not just talk, either, though that is pretty clear for everyone to see anyway. Money is very much being put where mouths are.
Wrexham demolished their Kop at the Cae Ras in January 2023 and have plans to build a 5,500-seater replacement as part of their ongoing improvement and expansion work on the stadium. Construction has been held up by “additional complications”, though, and a temporary stand that holds around 3,000 remains in place.
