ROB MCELHENNEY has announced exciting plans this week to potentially upgrade the former Hippodrome cinema site in Wrexham.

The ongoing birthday banter between Rob and fellow Wrexham AFC chairman Ryan Reynolds has this time seemingly solved an ongoing city centre headache for Wrexham.

The pair have become well-known for carrying out elaborate pranks for each other's birthdays.

From blimps to memorial urinals, they've certainly made that a tradition - but the latest 'prank' may well actually be the answer to an unsolved problem in Wrexham's city centre.

Now, for Ryan's 47th birthday (Monday, October 23), Rob has submitted proposals to ‘gift’ his friend a new public park in the heart of Wrexham City Centre entitled “The Ryan Rodney Reynolds Memorial Park”.

He states that the site will be 'located on the site of the old Hippodrome' on Henblas Street, which has been closed for a number of years.

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Locally, the Wrexham community all know the proposed site as that of the former Hippodrome cinema which was much loved before being demolished in 1998. 

However, after lying vacant for a number of years, Wrexham Council purchased the site in late 2021 with the aim of using it to help create a focal point for increased dwell time and to stimulate some of the regeneration of this part of town.

The launch of the Placemaking plan in 2023 now creates the vision for the Market quarter, which aligns with that of Rob McElhenney for the site.

Following Rob's announcement, the Leader took a look at our archives this week to take a trip down memory lane to the old Hippodrome days.

Click on our gallery above to have a look at some old snaps of the site!