Wrexham 'won't forget local roots' amid global appeal, says Shaun Harvey
- Published
Thousands of fans lined the streets of Wrexham to get a glimpse of the victory parade buses
Wrexham insist they will not "risk losing" the support of the local community as the club's global profile continues to grow.
Thousands of fans lined the city's streets as the club celebrated promotion to the English Football League (EFL) with an open-top bus tour.
The Welsh club's profile has grown with Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney as owners.
"We'll never forget the local roots," advisor to the board Shaun Harvey said.
"Because with the season tickets being sold, the vast majority are still to people from the Wrexham area and the vast majority of whom came to see the club through those dark days.
"We do need to take the club forward off the field and on that global level, we'll never do so at the risk of losing the local community.
"If we do that then we've actually failed probably one of the bigger elements of the mission statement, which is to ensure that we look after the community from which the club takes its name."
Wrexham's promotion following a 15-year absence means they will be bound by the EFL's spending rules.
"I don't believe the rules will stop us from doing anything that we believe will be in our best interest as a direct result of the revenue that we can generate," added Harvey, a former EFL chief executive.
"And there are lots of new sponsors coming on board and those people are recognising the global appeal of the club."
Wrexham's co-chairmen McElhenney and Reynolds have previously stated that the aim is to reach the Premier League.
The Dragons have never played higher than English football's second tier and would need three further promotions to get to the top division.
"They've got ambitions - they want the club to play at the highest possible level," Harvey told BBC Sport Wales. "The highest possible level is the Premier League.
Ryan Reynolds speaks on his club Wrexham
"So the two things naturally go together and it's very easy for people to link the two and to ridicule it.
"But the point is we need to get promotion from League Two before we can move on then on and on.
"Everybody knows it's a difficult journey we've got ahead of us but if we don't have ambition and if we don't have time, then ultimately why do we do this?
"If actually Rob and Ryan are doing this, the key is they want to deliver a community benefit to the people of Wrexham.
"If they can do that via the football club, which is gaining global accolades, then the biggest beneficiaries are the people of Wrexham."
Wrexham's on-field success this season and the Disney+ documentary series 'Welcome to Wrexham' have seen the club's popularity and profile grow, particularly in North America where the team will face Chelsea, LA Galaxy and Manchester United in pre-season games in July.
"Obviously the thing that takes most to get used to is the global force," Harvey added.
"We wanted to take the world on and it's a long way in fairness to actually competing with the world's best.
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"But we are in a position where we've achieved the only objective we could deliver this year, which was promotion from the National League.
"What the future holds we will see but it's certainly all positive at this time."
Wrexham have played in front of sell-out crowds this season at the Racecourse, where the current capacity is restricted to just under 11,000
A new 5,500-seater stand on the site of the now demolished Kop stand has secured financial backing from Wrexham County Borough Council.
Harvey said the hope was the new stand, which would include hospitality facilities, office and retail space, would be ready ahead of the start of the 2024-25 season.
"It's a big ask from where we are at the moment and we do need to make sure that we get it right rather than get there quickly," the former Bradford City and Leeds United executive said.
"The support of the local authority to produce some funding for it was massively important and we've got some big meetings coming up over the next fortnight that will set that path and when it's likely to be there."
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