18/42 - The Penny Cars Stadium (Excelsior Stadium), Airdrie

3rd November 2018
Ground Number: 18
Ground: The Penny Cars Stadium (Excelsior Stadium), Airdrie
Home of: Airdrieonians FC
Match: Airdrie V Forfar
Score: 0-1
Attendance: 645

Everything about Airdie impressed us. They impressed us even months before we got round to visiting. They got in touch with us eager to know when we'd be visiting their ground and they couldn't do enough to help us. They put together a special package for us which included match ticket, pin badge and programme for a discounted price. Amazing service. They even offered us a free behind the scenes tour but sadly we had to pass on that due to timings. How would things be when we actually got to the stadium though? Let's find out shall we?

The ground is easy to find and provides parking on site for a small charge. £2.00 is a fair and reasonable price which we were only too happy to pay for the convenience of being parked right at the ground.  What immediately struck us was this was not your typical League One ground. Airdie are a fallen (sleeping?) giant and the stadium very much backs up that theory.We reported to the Club Shop to collect our tickets and they were expecting us and seemed genuinely interested in what we were doing. 

We quickly nipped to the main entrance of the stadium to see if it would be possible to get a picture inside and, again, it wasn't a problem. They knew who we were and welcomed us in! 

Pictures done we decide to get in and find our seats.  Upon entering the ground we climbed some stairs and arrived on the spacious concourse which offered snack bar, toilets etc and a place to shelter from the cold. When we emerged and found our seats we were greatly impressed with the Excelsior.

Everyone was situated in the West Stand today and all three of the other stands had their seats covered so we're guessing they've not been used or needed in quite some time.

Our seats offer us a good view of the action but it is a shame to see such a modern, smart, stadium lacking in visitors. Scottish football needs places like this to be rocking on Saturdays. We hope Airdrie achieve the success the home supporters so clearly desire and they can attract more fans to the ground on match days. The match got underway and it was pretty scrappy stuff truth being told.

There honestly wasn't much to write about in the first half so let's talk about the Airdrie pie shall we? Well 9/10 probably tells you everything you need to know. It was delicious. a true contender for "pie of the tour so far."  As far as we could tell smokers couldn't exit the ground at half time. David did try but no exits seemed open and there was no staff about to ask. It wasn't the end of the world though.

Back to the "action" for the second half then and the home supporters become increasingly frustrated at their sides inability to fashion any chances of note. Of course they are then duly punished late in the match as John Baird scores a screamer for the away side and with it grabs all 3 points.

The Excelsior Stadium (The Penny Cars Stadium for sponsorship purposes) has it all. A brilliant Club Shop, great staff, brilliant food and really modern comfortable facilities for the fans offering good views of the match. We really enjoyed our visit to Airdrie. The one thing they need (and deserve) now is a winning team on the park. We hope they can shine bright like a diamond. ;)