There’s very little to be said of the Excelsior Stadium whilst remaining polite, which is odd considering there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it whatsoever.
If I was to give the stadium the benefit of the doubt, I’d say that when it’s packed full of raucous Glaswegians roaring their team on, it’s no doubt a joy to be present.
Realistically, there was nothing to suggest that any of that statement is true. It seems unfair to judge an entire football club based on a deserted stadium on a Wednesday morning, but that’s all I have to go off.
The stadium sits on the outskirts of a very grim looking housing estate, the sort I had to deliver to on my round as a paperboy but always feared and left till last. The weather was biting cold, the skies were grey and the cladding on this dull identikit ground matched that.
And I think that’s the problem. There’s nothing that suggests an element of personality, individuality, colour or imagination on the outside of this stadium. No character, no emotion, no history. I suspect if I visit this ground in 20 years time it will look exactly the same.
The inside looks pleasant, but who wants pleasant? Four almost identical stands, devoid of everything bar seats. The main stand is grand and a dominating sight, but there’s absolutely nothing impressive about it. I should have loved Airdrie United and their home, with the history they have of going into liquidation then rising from the ashes once more.
But on a bitingly cold day there was absolutely nothing here that made me want to stay any longer than the time it takes to snap a photograph.
Football Grounds I Can Be Bothered To Visit 