The pub that is adjacent to Wrexham’s Racecourse stadium and a regular feature in the award-winning “Welcome to Wrexham” series has been bought by the club’s celebrity co-owners.
The acquisition of The Turf was described by Wrexham’s ownership — fronted by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac — as a “continuation of the strategy to protect the future of the club and its interests by ring fencing key areas related to the life of the club.”
It was inside The Turf where Wrexham AFC was founded in 1864, when the pub was called the Turf Hotel. It has a central role in the TV docuseries that is into its fifth season and has helped to make Wrexham a popular club around the world.
The deal for The Turf “allows for the preservation of the history and traditions of the historic public house that is inexorably linked to the Racecourse Ground and Wrexham AFC Football Club,” the club said in a statement, and incorporates it with the club and the stadium under a single ownership.
Reynolds and Mac have regularly been filmed in The Turf alongside other celebrity actors like Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd, while Prince William once went behind the bar to pour a pint.
The pub’s landlord, Wayne Jones, has become a celebrity in his own right owing to his frequent appearances in TV series and Wrexham said he will continue to run The Turf on a day-to-day basis.
“I look forward to continue running The Turf,” Jones said, “and bringing its unique mix of history, atmosphere and sometimes Hollywood stardust to the next generation of Wrexham fans and locals alike.”
___