Nick Servini Wales Today presenter
Wrexham AFCThe minister responsible for sport has defended giving £18m of public money to Wrexham AFC to improve their stadium.
Despite the club being owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac (formerly McElhenney), Minister for Culture Jack Sargeant said the grant to fund the new Kop stand at the Stok Cae Ras ground would help “transform Wrexham”.
Speaking on Politics Wales, Sargeant responded to recent criticism, saying: “We’ve seen Wrexham on the up because of the football and because of the community around it.”
Wrexham AFC said the funding from the Welsh government and the local council is part a wider regeneration plan for the area.
“It’s a really big development in the heart of Wrexham, it’s the whole city, it’s the gateway project,” Sargeant added.
The club is currently mid-table in the Championship, one league below the Premier League, and improvements include upgrades to the floodlights, pitch and other stadium infrastructure to meet “the required standards” to host international sporting events.
Wrexham AFC said this would create jobs and “economic uplift” in Wrexham by attracting visitors to the events.
But the decision has been criticised by some, including football finance expert Stefan Borson, who told the it was “unusual” for public money to be used for such a project that was commercially viable.
Sargeant was also asked about current turmoil in Welsh rugby, saying he had confidence in the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), which is in the middle of carrying out controversial changes to the game.
Welsh rugby’s governing body has announced it will cut one professional team by 2027.
The three teams will be equally funded, initially by £6.4m each per year and rising to £7.8m, with one based in the east, one in Cardiff and one in the west.
If Cardiff, Scarlets, Ospreys and Dragons cannot come to a consensus as to how that will be decided – such as a merger – then the WRU will open a tender process for the three licences.
“We all know the difficulties Welsh rugby is under. My message to [the WRU] was that they have to listen to the fans and the fans of rugby in Wales,” Sargeant said.
“The position of me and as sports minister is wanting the game of rugby in Wales to get to a better place than we currently are and we do want the WRU to work with communities across Wales to get that right.”