UNL Stadium May Not Be ADA Compliant.

April 1st, 2006

It is difficult to grow up in Nebraska and not gain at least a small amount of affection and pride in Nebraska Football. For most, it is more than just pride, but a full blown obsession. This is a state where a season ticket carries with it a certain social standing and the better those tickets are, the higher your position in the pecking order you sit. With the advent of the Skyboxes to the stadium, this near aristocratic pecking order has grown even higher, literally. Unfortunately, for far to long, disabled fans like myself have been near the bottom of that pecking order. A mobility impaired person, especially one in a wheelchair has been traditionally required to sit in a segregated area in the lower section of the south east in stadium and are required to reserve their seats prior to arriving. Unfortunately, if these seats fill up, you're out of luck. UNL Ticket Manager, John Anderson stated in a KETV investigation back in 2001, ""Unfortunately, when you go to reserved seating, there's only a finite number of seats and once they're gone, they're gone," "If they don't mind going two-deep under the north end zone, we can accommodate them." The University stated in response to KETV that there is currently no long-range plan to bring the stadium in compliance with ADA guidelines. It appears that in 5 years, very little has changed. I know that many Nebraska fans, ever defensive of their beloved program are thinking, "hey… at least you can go to the games, some of the time." For me the poor seating is the primary reason that I don't go to the games anymore. In fact on several occasion I have had access to very desirable tickets and have always turned them down. What a waste to pay that kind of money for a pair of decent tickets just to have to drag a family member down to the handicapped section with me. I doubt that person would ever attend a game with me again. With the new Stadium Expansion Project underway the University says they will "remove the first four rows of pre-cast concrete seat planks to convert the space for handicap seating all along the front row of the North stadium." This is little more than an attempt to appear politically correct without complying with the Law and only serves to add more insult to injury. Basically this means that if you are handicapped, you will have front row seats to the in-zones but still won't be able to sit with the elite in the east and west stadium seats. The Americans with Disabilities Act section on "Accessible Stadiums, key accessibility requirements… that apply to new stadiums," states;

• Wheelchair accessible seating is required. At least one percent of the seating must be wheelchair seating locations. Each wheelchair seating location is an open, level space that accommodates one person using a wheelchair and has a smooth, stable, and slip-resistant surface.
• Accessible seating must be an integral part of the seating plan so that people using wheelchairs are not isolated from other spectators or their friends or family.
• A companion seat must be provided next to each wheelchair seating location. The companion seat is a conventional seat that accommodates a friend or companion.

Purple_Areas_Show_Handicapped_Seating

• Wheelchair seating locations must be provided in all areas including sky boxes and specialty areas.
• Removable or folding seats can be provided in wheelchair seating locations for use by persons who do not use wheelchairs so the facility does not lose revenue when not all wheelchair seating locations are ticketed to persons who use wheelchairs.
• Whenever more than 300 seats are provided, wheelchair seating locations must be provided in more than one location. This is known as dispersed seating. Wheelchair seating locations must be dispersed throughout all seating areas and provide a choice of admission prices and views comparable to those for the general public.
• Wheelchair seating locations must be on an accessible route that provides access from parking and transportation areas and that connects to all public areas, including concessions, restaurants, rest rooms, public telephones, and exits.
• Wheelchair seating locations must provide lines of sight comparable to those provided to other spectators. In stadiums where spectators can be expected to stand during the show or event (for example, football, baseball, basketball games, or rock concerts), all or substantially all of the wheelchair seating locations must provide a line of sight over standing spectators. A comparable line of sight, as illustrated in the figure below, allows a person using a wheelchair to see the playing surface between the heads and over the shoulders of the persons standing in the row immediately in front and over the heads of the persons standing two rows in front.

I know that lawyers may debate and most certainly the University of Nebraska will argue, that this isn't a new stadium and therefore isn't covered by these ADA guidelines. I would argue that at the very least the new North Stadium expansion is. Here is a perfect opportunity to begin dispersing seating for disabled persons among the general seating. It is also a chance for the University to avoid a costly lawsuit and a possible retrofit. For those of you that think this is a little over the top, just imagine if Black fans were forced to sit in the same, segregated areas. All Nebraska fans have a great opportunity to take the higher moral ground with this issue and demand the next time they start writing out another donation check, buying another T-shirt or laying down for season tickets that at least some of the money goes towards ending this discriminatory practice. For those that are still in full disagreement with me, I wonder if you would be willing to be the one who has to tell a newly disabled veteran returning from Iraq that they are going to have to sit at the "back" of the stadium.

-Richard Okelberry, Managing Editor

richokelberry@lincolnsblog.com