The Racecourse is a classic looking football ground with four prominent floodlight pylons and a large home terrace, which unfortunately is now closed. The stadium also has a great blend of the old and the new, with the Mold Road Stand, having a modern interesting design. To show how times have changed and the amount of all seated stadiums that there are now, the Kop Terrace at Wrexham was until recently the largest terrace in the League. In its heyday almost 9,500 fans could be stood on it. This stand is a throwback to when every ground had a similar kind of terrace and even the crowd barriers are painted in the club colours of red & white (rather than those dull metallic coloured barriers present in modern stands). The terrace which is located at one end of the ground is partly covered (to the rear) and although no longer in use is still a great sight.
At the other end is the University End. This stand which was opened in 1978 is a two-tiered stand, covered and all seated. It has a couple of supporting pillars, situated between the two tiers. It also has an electric scoreboard on its roof. On one side is the Yale Stand. This stand was opened in 1972 and got its name from the Yale College, which was situated behind this stand. It is now known as the bkoncepts Stand in a corporate sponsorship deal. It is a fair sized two-tiered covered stand, which is now all seated, having previously had terracing at the front. The team dugouts are located in front of this stand. Opposite is the Mold Road Stand that was opened in 1999. This side of the ground has been unused for a number of years so its construction greatly improved the overall ground appearance. It is semi-circular in design with a capacity of 3,500 seats and features an unusual roof design. It is now called the Hays Travel Stand.
Away fans are housed in the upper tier of the bkoncepts Stand, at one side of the pitch, towards the University End. The view of the playing action is generally okay from this area, as are the facilities. The atmosphere is normally not bad too, with away fans being able to really make themselves heard. The close proximity of the home sections also helps with the banter.
Racecourse Ground seating plan:
At the back of the Yale Stand is the fair sized Centenary Club which allows in away fans. It is free to enter, has Sky Sports and also offers food in the form of Pie & Peas, it is also handy for the away turnstiles. There is also one pub right on the corner of the ground at the Kop End called ‘The Turf’. It is a Marstons pub which does allow in away supporters, but only in small numbers. It can get extremely busy, so arrive early. Continuing along Mold Road (passing the stadium on your right) and just past the Shell Garage on the left, is the Maesgwyn Hall Club which admits visiting supporters.
The favoured pub for away fans is the Plas Coch. As Darren Denby informs me; ‘it is a restaurant type pub, with a large beer garden, that is located past the ground going away from the town centre, near to the Sainsburys Petrol Station. It is about a five minute walk away from the stadium’. The pub is on the Plas Coch Retail Park opposite NEWI, where you can also park for the afternoon, at a cost of £2.
If you arrive early (around 1-1.15pm) there is some street parking to be had, on the other side of the road from the car showroom by the Turf Pub. There is also parking available at the nearby Glyndwr University (£3) or there a couple of private car parks in the area, charging in the region of £2, including NEWI on the Plas Coch Retail Park.
Get directions to the Racecourse Ground from your house by entering your post code or location below:
Wrexham General Railway Station is located next to the ground and is only a few minutes walk away. Exit the station walk up the station approach road and at the top turn right along the main road. The ground is along on the right. It is served by trains from Wolverhampton and Holyhead.
Rivals - Shrewsbury Town, Crewe Alexandra, Tranmere Rovers and Chester
Travel: I have been here by train a few times but this time due to rail replacement between Chester and Crewe and the cost of Train tickets being £120 we decided to drive.
Journey from East London since I live near Jct 28 M25 was about 4 hours after leaving home at 9am and stopping for petrol at Bar Hill Tesco on A14. SatNav said to go via M25, M1, M6, M54 and A5 I went M25, M11, A14, M6, M54 and A5 I was told that I went the right way due to problems on the M1 and the supporters coach did get a bit of traffic. The Supporters coach left at 8:30am and arrived about 2pm. I arrived at just before 1pm and paid £3 for parking in the Glyndwr University and was able to park near the front of the Car Park.
Refreshments: I had to walk to town to get cash for buying a beer. Walked past the Wrexham Lager Sports & Social Club with one of the home fans in the Turf said was a good place to drink before the game. I used the Burger bar in the Turf Car Park and met some of the away fans there. We left the Turf and tried to get into the Centenary Club which now charges £5 for away fans to enter. But then since this was a well attended match I can understand away fans not being allowed in. In the Away end only beer was Carlsberg Lager or Cider available. Since I was driving I went for water at £2.50 a bottle,
Impressions: We was in the Yale Stand but so many home fans they even had home fans sitting in front of us.
Atmosphere: The Game was good Wrexham won 1-0. Good atmosphere throughout.
Anything Else: After the match I took the wrong route behind the University stand I should have walked into the car park and then behind the stand as I would have been the other side of the fence. I got stuck in the 10 person wide queue to get out. Once on the main road I was in the car in seconds but we was still in a queue for 10 minutes to get out of the car park
Enjoy: A good day out and it would have been a 3.½ Hours home if I had not stopped for something to eat at Tesco's Bar Hill on the way back.
Ground Name: Racecourse Ground
Capacity: 10,500 (all seated)
Address: Mold Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AH
Main Tel No.: 01978 891 864
Team Nickname: Red Dragons
Year Ground Opened: 1872
Site: www.wrexhamafc.co.uk
