Hmm, Hollywood soft power at work I wonder? Quite a few clubs, I'm sure, would have welcomed more government aid towards stadium upgrades but haven't got it.

To be honest, given the present pressures on the public purse, I don't see why the government should use tax payers money towards funding what are essentially private business ventures. I would, however, get it if it was about making existing stadiums that were of important heritage value in their communities safe. Similarly, if a club's redevelopment plans could be seen to create job opportunities and substantially benefit the local community then some government help towards this could be justifiable. The government have pledged some £400m towards the new Sports Quarter in East Birmingham for example which is based around the new Blues stadium. The redevelopment is projected to create around 10,000 jobs and add an estimated £450m a year to the local economy by 2035. The government have also pledged some £2.4bn towards improving grand transport infrastructure in the area.

In Wrexham's case, the scale of any redevelopment is, of course, nowhere near that of the one in Birmingham and is, I believe, centred on the existing stadium.The above criteria may well have been met but their £18m is far more than other clubs have received. The correct process wasn't followed either apparently -not that the government will get their money back now.