Adaptability, Mobility and Sense-Around

By William Hume

I have a partially disabled right leg. My range of motion is very limited in that leg, but at least I don’t have pain from advanced joint arthritis. I can’t drive anymore, so my wife, Jeanine, takes me along for the ride. We have 300 horses of turbo-charging, so she gives me my daily thrill ride. My whole viewpoint is ADAPTABILITY, MOBILITY, and SENSE-AROUND: a physical disability, even vision impairment or compromised hearing, should not stop life’s greatest pleasures from being enjoyed by a disabled person. By sense-around, I mean technology which allows special needs individuals have sight and sound enhanced with advanced dimensional innovation.

In this editorial regarding handicap seating at stadium events, be it sports, car racing, music concerts, or more, I want to create a vision of practical access for everything from a walking cane to wheelchairs. As you will see, handicapped fans can have the best seats in the house. As a retired gentleman, age 74, from decades in the civil engineering field, I’ve seen all kinds of structures planned, designed, and built. Going forward, to future stadium design and remodeling, we special needs individuals should be given priority.

Let’s get to it! To begin with, all handicap and special needs stadium seating should be at ground level. Ground level is the best “see level” as well. Disability stadium seating in front can be an architectural and structural engineering ground anchor for a stadium deck. The dimension of being closest to our sports heroes on the field or race drivers on a track elevates our sense of importance. Sensory perception for the visually impaired can be enhanced with real-time announcing on provided headsets that bring special three-dimensional explanations. For hearing loss fans, big screens would feature ASL interpretation.

Hopefully, this read will inspire and compel handicapped and special needs individuals to advocate for innovative stadium seating designs. One of our close encounters with handicap seating this year was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the “500.”

Attending the Indianapolis 500 with my wife, Jeanine, I reserved two ADA seats, handicap Paddock row. Great location, as this area is the front row on a 9-foot wide and elevated planked steel panel deck, located right across from the starting line, Pagoda Tower and winner’s podium. The intention for providing for of disability seating at IMS is good, but the execution is not.

Unfortunately, the “handicap seats” are old card table chairs the Speedway has owned for ages. The chairs were missing for our two designated spots. A Speedway attendant located two seats from someone else’s spot! Chaotic way to host a handicapped individual for sure. Two race fans next to us did not have chairs either, were not as lucky, and sat on a cooler and the other on on the deck floor the whole race! Listen up, Speedway — get new chairs that are cushioned with drink holders for the comfort of a disabled person. That’s just the beginning of my fix.

I will suggest a design that will require a deconstructing and then a quality new structure. I’ll be an innovative problem solver here. Presently, the handicap area is bolted steel and aluminum planks and tubing. Disassemble that and build a cantilevered concrete deck wider with more access ramps in addition to the stairways. Space the handicap wheelchair area with two companion chairs of new design mentioned, mapped out in stripes with 3M reflective traffic paint and divided with tube railings. place the pedestrian walkway directly behind the separated forward handicap row. This way handicapped fans and bleacher seat fans will be separated completely. As it was race fans walked right through the wheelchair area and made havoc of drinks and coolers disabled fans had brought with them. I had two beer cans knocked over right after I bought them. Glad our hot dogs didn’t get squished.

The Indianapolis 500 is a fantastic motorsports event and an incredible experience. A few improvements to the disability seating will make attending more comfortable for loyal fans today and future special needs race fans in the future.

If a competition wheelchair race hasn’t been planned for the 2023 “500,” it should be. At the 2.5-mile track, a two-lap event of 5 miles for 33 fast men and women competitors in traditional rows of three based on a one-lap qualification run with a pole position would be fun to see. Winner gets a “baby” Borg-Warner trophy and a promotional contract with a wheelchair manufacturer.

Some new sports venues, such as SoFi Park in Los Angeles, and Allegian Stadium in Las Vegas, are great for ADA seating. These two stadiums have no traditional bench seating, which should be removed from existing sports venues for all fans.

This article is a call to action and timely implementation. Before I became partially disabled, I would try to help any physically challenged person I could, anywhere, with whatever assistance I could perform. That’s what I was taught to do. A historic facility, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway can build a better fan experience for those race fans with special needs.

William Hume spends time in retirement writing opinion editorials nationally regarding infrastructure, transportation, agriculture, politics, and motorsports. William’s disability originated from athletic injuries during his university years.