The Hollywood actors bought the North Wales-based football team in 2020, but now they are reportedly in talks to invest in Cardiff’s The Hundred side Welsh Fire.
Reynolds and McElhenney ‘make contact’ over Welsh Fire stake
Reynolds and McElhenney, the Hollywood stars who have changed the chance of Wrexham Football Club as its co-owners, have held talks about buying a stake in Welsh Fire, The Hundred cricket franchise based in Cardiff.
Those talks are part of a wider effort from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to sell 49% stakes in each of the eight Hundred franchises, which the ECB hopes will raise about £500m.
Glamorgan cricke county hold a 51% stake in Welsh Fire and, if Reynolds and McElhenney were to turn their interest into firm investment, the county hopes they could “grow the brand globally” as they have done with Wrexham.
“I think it’s a great opportunity financially for us to be able to invest back into the stadium here at Sophia Gardens, into the team at Glamorgan County and build the game in Wales recreationally, help the great work that Cricket Wales, our partners, are doing on that front,” Cherry told BBC Sport Wales.
“It gives a big opportunity to the game to expand its own feet and to grow it, as we have seen with The Hundred, with lots of great crowds, families are coming in. To me it can inspire the next generation of players to pick up a bat and ball.
“We want the best deal in the interest of Glamorgan County Cricket Club. We’re very keen on protecting and making sure that we can sustain our club here in Cardiff, and we want to grow Welsh Fire as a brand internationally”.
Cardiff-based Welsh Fire plays in The Hundred, a hundred-ball cricket tournament which was first launched in 2021.
Chief executive of Welsh Fire, Dan Cherry, has confirmed to Sky News that “contact has been made” with the duo.
In July, the ECB confirmed talks with Indian Premier League (IPL) team owners about acquiring stakes in the Hundred. The IPL has transformed the global cricket landscape, offering players lucrative careers outside of traditional five-day Test matches.