Witness a gamechanger: Inside the thrilling Chelsea-Wrexham FC showdown in Chapel Hill
Posted July 13, 2023 11:10 a.m. EDT
Updated July 19, 2023 9:34 a.m. EDT
Chapel Hill, N.C. — Tens of thousands of people are expected to flock to Chapel Hill's Kenan Stadium Wednesday for the 2023 FC Series exhibition between Chelsea and Wrexham.
The much-anticipated FC Series exhibition is the back end of a double-shot of big-time soccer in the Triangle this summer. Chapel Hill is the first stop on Wrexham's first U.S. tour.
In what's been a banner year for novelty sporting events in the area, the game draws the squads together for the first time since 1984. In June, The Soccer Tournament drew big crowds to WakeMed Soccer Park for a weekend. A sellout crowd is expected to take in this Chelsea-Wrexham game with fans coming from all over the globe. Wrexham is profiled in the FX Networks docuseries 'Welcome to Wrexham' and the club begins its inaugural, four-match USA preseason tour against Chelsea. Chelsea is based in Fulham, West London, and competes in Premier League.
"We want them to embrace each area we're in and find out what the area's all about," said Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson of his team's mindset on seeing the area. "I want the lads to experience getting the most out of each day, so that's training and also experience each area we go to."
A Triangle woman in the sports event field has helped put this game together.
Molly Pendleton graduated from UNC and Broughton High School in Raleigh. She played in the CASL soccer league growing up and works with Unified Events to help organize matches across the U.S. She's also worked to bring FC Series matches to Stanford University and the University of Michigan.
In a conversation with WRAL News, Pendleton described what made the Triangle an attractive pick for the game, how the match will have a North Carolina flavor and whether or not we could see Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at Kenan Stadium.
Q: What made UNC and the Triangle a desirable landing spot for this game?
A: I think the Triangle in general is such a hot bed for soccer. You have such a strong pull with the NCFC and the Courage and CASL.
I think we've seen what strong alumni bases like Carolina can do when rallying behind special events. It's not only the first EPL match but it's really the first special event in about 20 years at Kenan Stadium outside of regular football games (a Bruce Springsteen concert was held at Kenan in 2003). I think that really the amount of support we've seen for soccer in general in the Triangle and the way that UNC can mobilize their alumni base was attractive.
Q: Where does this game rank in terms of North Carolina soccer events?
A: I would put this up there. All the games we've had in Charlotte before with Liverpool and Chelsea and Bayern Munich – all of those games have been pretty similar in attendance. This will be right up there due to the sellout. From how much exposure Wrexham has had over the last couple of months, where Chelsea is with American ownership and the type of club they are with English Premier League, I think this is up there with soccer events in North Carolina.
Q: Do you have a sense of how seriously the players take this game?
A: I think that when they go home from this tour, they are starting the season for the EPL. They're really getting into the mix.
Chelsea's got a lot of new players coming in, so it's making sure how they all fit together.
Wrexham's so excited to be returning a lot of the players that helped them get promoted last year. I know that they are eager, especially in a matchup like this where there is a split as far as level in which they compete. I think Chelsea and Wrexham will come out of the game fired up for it.
Q: What are the tailgating options for this game?
A: Yes. There will be a fan zone set up near the bell tower lot where there will be activations from both teams. There will be pregame hospitality. We invite everybody out. Everything opens about 5:30, so about a couple of hours before the game kicks off. We do encourage people to buy parking. It's all available for purchase ahead of time. I think people are going to need to get used to how to get in and out of Kenan Stadium. We do encourage people to get over there early and get to experience some of the stuff that's been built up by the clubs.
Q: How long did this take to come together?
A: We first started talking to UNC in the fall about stadium availability and what could happen. After the first of the year it shook out that Chelsea was participating in an English Premier League Summer Series Tournament, and they were looking for a game ahead of that tournament as an earlier date. It really started to come to fruition after the first of the year.
Q: How have ticket sales gone?
A: We've had ticket purchasers from all 50 states and six different countries. Over 70 percent of the ticket buyers are outside of the Triangle area. I think that was a real appeal for UNC in putting on this match, being able to showcase the university and the venue to people who might not typically be UNC football fans, to come on campus and see a match like that. We were sold out pretty early. We're doing a small release of sponsor and team allotments, but we expect a sold-out crowd next week.
Q: Will Wrexham owners and well-known actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds attend the game?
A: We don't know. I know they're in the process of filming some stuff. I think the hope is that they will be in attendance. We do know that they will be filming season 3 of the documentary as part of their preseason tour, so hopefully they'll be able to cheer Wrexham on in their first match here in the U.S.
