Aberdeen - Pittodrie

Hi everyone and welcome back for blog number three of five! 

This time my trip was a midweek outing to Pittodrie, the home of Aberdeen for the Scottish Cup Quarter Final. Before discussing my matchday experience I’ll provide a brief overview of the venue itself. Pittodrie remains a very historical stadium having originally been built back in 1899, and in 1903 became home to the only Scottish football team to have won two European trophies, Aberdeen FC. Pittodrie has been significant in notable introductions, it was the first stadium in the UK to become all seated as well as allowing Aberdeen to be the first club to use a dugout. Pittodrie has four stands which surround the pitch and provides a total capacity for spectators of just over 20,000. 

Now that general summary has been covered, I’ll move on to cover my matchday experience! There were once again two ticket options provided for this fixture, either purchase a ticket in advance from the Partick Thistle ticket office or a pay at the gate option however, this was card only. I chose to purchase a ticket in advance as the original communication was that this was going to be the only option and away tickets were limited. I once again chose to travel to the game via supporters’ bus, this was a free bus provided by the club which therefore, made it a no brainer. This decision was only made simpler since the nearest train station is over a half an hour walk and no return trains being available after the game finished, additionally, parking spaces are limited around the ground due to the high number of fans attending the games. 

The away fans are situated at one side of the South Stand with a total allocation available for up to 2,500 spectators. Security is very strict for away fans, on arrival there is a stage 2 stage security check prior to scanning your ticket at the turnstiles, one of which is a stop and search. Within the away section there was only one catering stall open to provide for 730 away fans which wasn’t ideal. The seating setup wasn’t very comfortable either as there was two different levels within each row. 

It’s a long commute from Glasgow, especially, on a Wednesday night however, I would recommend visiting Pittodrie before it is replaced with a new stadium in what is estimated to be 2027.