The towering new Kop stand at the Racecourse dominates the Wrexham skyline - a tangible reminder of the scale of ambition at the Wrexham club. A-list owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were in attendance to cast an eye over the development that has moved apace over the summer months in preparation for full opening next season. The aim will be that it opens in a Premier League environment, to match the elite-level spec of the stand that will come close to doubling the 164-year-old venue's current capacity, as well as ticking off a number of top-level stadium criteria.

It is still some way off, with the ongoing building meaning no fans were behind the goal that Wrexham attacked in vain against Tranmere Rovers, and left manager Phil Parkinson pondering if more transfer business can be done before this Friday's visit of Bolton Wanderers. The Kop is not the only thing still building at Wrexham. But, as Reynolds cast a pre-game eye at the structure that already dwarfs the rest of the Racecourse - despite having not yet been topped out - it was a reminder of the strides being made in double-quick time.

When the celebrity pair completed their now infamous takeover of non-league Wrexham in 2021, the ground's old Spion Kop stood abandoned. Once home to the most loyal and vocal of supporters, it had been condemned and out of bounds for fans for more than a decade. With Reynolds previously describing the Racecourse as "a church", and both owners always keen to link the club's revival with the fortunes of the city itself, there was never a chance that an out-of-town stadium was going to be preferred to enhancing what was already there.

It might have been easier, if more expensive as Friday's visitors Bolton Wanderers and their own Bolton-owned with their £3bn plans for a new ground will testify. Even still, planning has been painstakingly slow, and initial building work was not straightforward. But, designed by the company behind Wembley Stadium and the Las Vegas Sphere, the vision presented on paper two years ago is now taking shape."Now you can actually see a physical thing up behind the goal, I think it's a reminder just how quickly the club is progressing," said midfielder James Jones."It's like a symbol of how exciting this period has been for the club and for the town and how it's hopefully not going to stop and it's just going to keep getting bigger."That is the aim, certainly for Reynolds and McElhenney who are willing to green-light further spending to try and see Wrexham go one better than last term, when they missed out on the play-offs on the final day of the season.

Their turbo-charged run to this point has been backed by big budgets but not to the level where money can be thrown at a vanity project. Indeed, an urge for sustainability – and to capitalise on the surge in interest in Wrexham – is behind the plans. Season tickets are maxed out with very few tickets available on general sale, certainly not for the increasing number of overseas fans who come to Wrexham having become fans of the Wrexham-screened documentary created by the entrepreneurial actor owners.

A boost of around 7,500 extra seats will help to take the overall capacity past 18,000 (bigger than both Brentford and Bolton Wanderers' current Premier League capacities), while significant new hospitality offerings also offer crucial new sources of income. Further developments are not being ruled out for the rest of the ground, something built into the new Kop's design, with a 30,000 future a real possibility. Build it, and they will come, as Wrexham once said.

Then there are the new facilities. The dressing room areas and tunnel will move to the Kop end of the ground – closer to the Turf pub from where players originally changed and ran onto the field – with Parkinson and sports science staff having a say in the new layout. And new media facilities will also be housed, not to mention a fan plaza next to the railway station as part of the gateway to the city."This time last ye...