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Nov 2023

Last Updated: 16/11/2023

Harrogate

Harrogate Town tickets selling fast due to 'Hollywood factor'

by John Grainger

| 16 Nov, 2023

Hollywood actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, the celebrity owners of Wrexham AFC.

Harrogate Town’s match against Wrexham at the end of the month is already the Wetherby Road side’s fastest-selling game – thanks to what a club spokesman called the “Hollywood factor”.

Wrexham AFC is owned by A-list movie star Ryan Reynolds and his business partner and friend, fellow actor Rob McElhenney.

The pair bought Wrexham in 2020, and their investment in the club helped it to win promotion from the National League to League Two at the end of last season.

Their involvement with the club has been charted by Welcome to Wrexham, a Disney+ documentary series that will enter its third season next year.

Tickets for the Harrogate-Wrexham game went on sale a month ago – on October 16 – to home supporters who have been to at least one home match this season. Most of them have already been sold, leaving just a few still up for grabs.

Hal Boxhall-Dockree, media manager at Harrogate Town, told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s the Hollywood factor. People are just more excited about this one – not necessarily our regular fans, but we’ve certainly had more interest from a lot of people who come less often.

“Some of them will have watched Welcome to Wrexham, which has generated a lot of media hype.”

All 450 tickets allocated to travelling Wrexham fans have already been sold. According to Colin Henrys, Wrexham's head of media and communications, this is not unusual following the club's acquisition by Reynolds and McElhenney. He said:

"This is very much the 'new normal'. We've sold out all of our away league games this season, and you can see from looking through the attendances this season that every team we've visited has posted either their highest – or at the very least one of their highest – crowds of the season. This is a continuation of the trend we noticed last season too."

But asked if Wrexham’s star owners were expected at the EnviroVent Stadium on November 28, Harrogate Town's spokesman said:

“I would think it’s very unlikely. I’m not aware of Ryan Reynolds having been to any other away games – but you never know.”

Whether he makes an appearance or not, the match is unlikely to be a dull affair. Despite a 15-year absence from league football, Wrexham haven’t lost a match in their last 10 league outings and currently stand second in League Two, just behind Stockport County. By contrast, Harrogate are in 14th place, having won half of their last 10 league games.

Tickets for the League Two clash are scheduled to go on general sale after the weekend, but Hal said:

“We’ll wait till Monday and then see how sales are going. At this rate, we may not need to release tickets for general sale at all.

"We are down to our last few tickets, so I would recommend people get them now to avoid disappointment.”

Harrogate Town have two matches to play before they meet Wrexham: a home tie against Swindon Town this Saturday (November 18), and an away fixture against Crawley Town on Saturday, November 25.

Tickets for all matches are available online only at the club’s e-ticketing webpage.

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Harrogate Town tickets selling fast due to 'Hollywood factor'

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