Hollywood and hometowns collide as Vancouver native and blockbuster actor Ryan Reynolds is bringing his Red Dragons to B.C. Place for an exhibition game on July 27
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Welcome to Vancouver, Wrexham.
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With hints dropping all over social media the past few days, the tantalizing teasers were made official Thursday morning: Wrexham AFC, the Hollywood-powered überdog, will play the Vancouver Whitecaps in an exhibition game on July 27 at B.C. Place.
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The newly-promoted League 1 side, owned by Vancouver native Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, play three games as part of the 2024 Wrex Coast Tour, but this is the only one against North American competition. The Red Dragons also play AFC Bournemouth on July 20 at Harder Stadium, in Santa Barbara, Calif., and with Chelsea FC on July 24 at Levi’s Stadium, in Santa Clara, Calif.
“Last year Rob got to bring Wrexham to Philly. This year it’s my turn,” Reynolds said in a news release. “I am so excited my hometown club, the Whitecaps, will get to square off against the Red Dragons. My official stance on the match will be a very friendly ‘neutral’ even if I will be screaming for a Paul Mullin hat trick.”
Whitecaps season ticket holders can expect to receive an email with details on their priority presale window. Tickets for the public will be available at 12 p.m. PT on Ticketmaster.
Wrexham nudged its way into the global consciousness in February 2021, when news broke that Reynolds and McElhenney had bought the-then fifth division club for around $3.4M CAD, rescuing the world’s third-oldest professional soccer club from oblivion. A year later that interest exploded with the Emmy-award winning documentary Welcome to Wrexham which earned the 159-year-old team a legion of new fans around the world.
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The money injected into the team by their new owners and sponsors built the team into a runaway rocket, and this past week Wrexham secured its second-straight promotion, and will play in League 1 next season. That’s just two levels below the richest soccer league in the world, the English Premier League.
Their opponents are as historical a club as one can get in North America, as the Whitecaps are the longest-running professional club in Canada or the U.S.
“This is an exciting opportunity for our club, as we celebrate our 50th anniversary season, to play a team as storied as Wrexham AFC,” Whitecaps CEO Axel Schuster said in a news release.
“We’re delighted to be able to welcome our visitors from Wales, and welcome Ryan Reynolds back home to Vancouver. We look forward to seeing everyone at B.C. Place for this first-time-ever matchup.”
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reference: theprovince.com