Wrexham AFC stadium truss installed: structural and erection notes for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
A 125‑tonne inverted ribbon truss has been lifted into place at Wrexham AFC’s Cae Ras, a key step in constructing the new Kop Stand that will take stadium capacity above 18,000 and achieve UEFA Category 4 compliance for the 2027/28 season. The truss, delivered in five sections, was assembled on site and installed using two purpose-designed temporary towers, with de-jacking into its final position to follow once the roof steelwork is fully connected. Principal contractor McLaren Construction and steel specialist J&D Pierce are delivering a 1,500‑tonne steel package with over 31,000 structural bolts, including off-site fabricated, intumescent-coated dolphin beams supporting the upper precast terracing.
Technical Brief
- Steel package totals over 1,500 tonnes, with more than 31,000 structural bolts installed.
- Over 16,000 fabricated fittings and 500+ holding-down bolts connect the new Kop steel frame.
- Main concourse steelwork, stair cores and lift cores are complete, enabling upper deck construction.
- Upper concrete decks and precast terracing units are progressing, coordinated with the advancing roof steelwork.
- Two bespoke temporary towers support the truss during roof steel completion and controlled de-jacking.
- Dolphin beams were fully fabricated and intumescent coated off-site before transport and erection on site.
- Blockwork to ground-floor lift shafts and MEP risers is underway, with MEP first-fix starting on upper floors.
- All upper floor slabs are now cast, allowing follow-on trades and further concrete pours to proceed in parallel.
Our Take
McLaren Construction Midlands and North’s role at Cae Ras mirrors its appointment on the £160m Upper Brook Street student scheme in Manchester, signalling that the regional business unit is now handling multiple complex steel and concrete frames across the North of England and Wales in parallel.
The Kop Stand work sits within a cluster of UK Infrastructure projects in our database where football stadium upgrades are tied into wider regeneration partnerships; here, the earlier Wrexham Gateway Partnership coverage suggests the stand is likely a catalyst for transport and university-linked public realm improvements rather than a standalone sports job.
A 125 t inverted ribbon truss with over 500 holding-down bolts indicates a heavily engineered roof structure, which in practice tends to constrain later retrofits; for Wrexham AFC this likely locks in the Populous-designed geometry and capacity uplift through at least the 2027/28 season and beyond, limiting scope for incremental expansion without major steelwork modifications.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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