Wrexham seeks designer for football museum

The council has stepped up the development of a National Football Museum for Wales at the town’s museum, formally launching a tender process to select a designer.

The move follows an update last week from Dafydd Elis-Thomas, deputy minister or culture, sport and tourism at the Welsh Government, who confirmed that a steering group led by Wrexham Council is now considering a business case compiled by consultancy Fourth Street earlier this year.

According to tender documents, the local authority is seeking “to employ a museum designer to lead a design team to redevelop the existing Wrexham Museum to incorporate a football museum for Wales.”

“The design team will consist of an architect and quantity surveyor,” the documents said. “The museum designer will be responsible for bringing on board a suitable architect with the council appointing a quantity surveyor to the design team at a later date.”

The main focus of the work at this point is to maximise space available in the current museum building and to relocate reserve collections. Expressions of interest are required by 18 January.

Elis-Thomas said last week: “The museum will work alongside communities to encourage participation and inspire visitors from all backgrounds. The project will complement other developments in Wrexham including the FAW National Training Centre at Collier’s Park, the Wrexham FC Professional Training Centre at the Groves, and the Wrexham Gateway redevelopment of the Racecourse Ground.”

Wrexham FC has hit the headlines in recent weeks following the takeover of the club by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who are advised by ex-Liverpool FC chief executive Peter Moore.

The project comes on the back of the completion of the £5m National Football Development Centre in the area in autumn 2019. Earlier this year, local Assembly Member Lesley Griffiths, a long-term supporter of the project, called Wrexham “the rightful home of Welsh football”.