IAmAClaret wrote:Putting a lift in every stand is a real issue due to none of the stands being built with it in mind. However, there will be a way, there always is.

The board needs to throw some money at it and get it sorted.

LoveCurryPies wrote:
Some of the disabled supporters said they were happy to sit in the corners getting soaked. But how many other disabled supporters don't even come to the matches because the problems are so great?

This might sound simple but could wheelchair users not be offered the foundation lounge in the Jimmy Mac Upper?

There are car parking spaces outside and a lift to the first floor.

Plus there is a disabled toilet and ten minutes before the game starts the room is empty.

It's a brilliant view of the pitch and obviously comfortable and warm.

The staff in the bar will move the tables and chairs to accommodate the disabled and are brilliant.

Eloise Laws wrote:Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best - could this not be offered up to the Club as an idea to adopt, until such times that the permanent solution is in place??

ThinLizzy wrote:I am sure this is a work in progress. The infrastructure will take time but to have a knee jerk reaction about our stadium is odd. It's an old stadium, we have to work with criteria and finances. I am sure it'll be addressed.

ClaretTony wrote:We have to work with legislation and Premier League requirements and beyond that we are working with our disabled fans. As for finances, that would have to be found regardless. The one thing we shouldn't do is have knee jerk reactions and make short term changes that will then prove of no value. We need to get the correct solution. It is, undoubtedly, much, much more difficult in an old stadium like ours which even showed total disregard for the disabled twenty years ago with the building of the newer stands.

Although I'm no longer involved in any discussions directly between the club and the disabled supporters, I do attend regular meetings with the club when they feedback and also in other meetings with disabled group reps when they feedback. But, as said in a previous post on this thread, I agree that we have failed our disabled fans for many years but believe that is no longer the case and hasn't been for over a year now.

ThinLizzy wrote:I wasn't having a go at you Tony. Just think a balance needs to be restored.

ClaretTony wrote:As said previously, the progress has been extensive and all avenues have been and are being explored. I don't know the answers short or long term but the people working on them now certainly do. The suggestion of using some of the rooms in the Jimmy McIlroy Stand were put to the club back in August at a meeting I attended (day before the opening game). That has since been discussed with the disabled supporters group so I can only assume it wasn't a suitable short term solution.

Quickenthetempo wrote:Out of interest, How many disabled fans attend home games and do we sell out all available places for them?

ClaretTony wrote:As said previously, the progress has been extensive and all avenues have been and are being explored. I don't know the answers short or long term but the people working on them now certainly do. The suggestion of using some of the rooms in the Jimmy McIlroy Stand were put to the club back in August at a meeting I attended (day before the opening game). That has since been discussed with the disabled supporters group so I can only assume it wasn't a suitable short term solution.

tybfc wrote:This might sound simple but could wheelchair users not be offered the foundation lounge in the Jimmy Mac Upper?

There are car parking spaces outside and a lift to the first floor.

Plus there is a disabled toilet and ten minutes before the game starts the room is empty.

It's a brilliant view of the pitch and obviously comfortable and warm.

The staff in the bar will move the tables and chairs to accommodate the disabled and are brilliant.

tybfc wrote:Thanks Tony but I am amazed that the disabled groups would decline using that room.

It is massive and would be plenty big enough to contain the wheelchair and disabled.

I spent three seasons in there not that long ago with two kids and there would be nothing to stop them using it so it's a bit odd.

KateR wrote:I think the bottom line is that everyone believes it wrong and something needs to be done, it is very bad publicity in addition to being totally wrong. While the club maybe thinking about it people are not catered for, they need to act and be seen to be doing something more than planning/talking, it's not as though this has just been discovered.

KateR wrote:I think the bottom line is that everyone believes it wrong and something needs to be done, it is very bad publicity in addition to being totally wrong. While the club maybe thinking about it people are not catered for, they need to act and be seen to be doing something more than planning/talking, it's not as though this has just been discovered.

ClaretTony wrote:I've already answered that, something is being done - the club are acting and things are in progress. It is not a simple solution and will take some considerable time but the deadline is start of 2018/19 season.

tybfc wrote: There are car parking spaces outside and a lift to the first floor.

tybfc wrote:Tony - I know that you are working with the Club to get this sorted.

But.

We have the ability to throw thousands upon thousands of pounds if not millions into sorting this and it is totally unacceptable that disabled people cannot watch their team for possibly another two years. Just chuck the money in now during the summer and get the work done whatever the clandestine work is.

Leisure wrote:To locate wheelchair disabled fans anywhere other than at pitch level is a very difficult issue. Whilst having a lift to get wheelchairs up to higher levels would lead people to think great, problem solved. Unfortunately it's not, as getting them out incase of an emergency is a real problem as the lift cannot be used in evacuation situations​. When I managed a leisure facility we were only allowed 8 disabled people in the building. We had to have procedures in place whereby in the event of an evacuation the able bodied were to be evacuated first whilst the people in wheelchairs had to wait until the stairs were clear and then they had to be carried down one at a time by 4 trained staff to each wheelchair. Dealing with just 8 wheelchairs was very problematic, so I can imagine dealing with significantly higher numbers would be a major task. I know that the club are working on a solution and hopefully that will be sooner rather than later.

claretdom wrote:The above post is the perfect example of why this should be left for both those who are disabled and the relevant people at the club to deal with. Chucking random suggestions in as the perfect scenario with little understanding doesn't help anyone. A lot more things need to be considered rather than just where they should sit.

TsarBomba wrote:So what is being done? Can anyone actually say?

There are various comments about it being a 'massive project', but if there's nothing tangible being seen, no indication from the club about long term plans, and no reassurance to the wider fan base, then it's understandable that concerns are being raised.

It's all well and good saying there's progress, but come on, it's been going on for years. Enough is enough.

If I had been disregarded like our disabled fans have been for so long, I would've given up a long time ago. I commend their loyalty.

Bfcis4me wrote:I've done this drawing it's a bit rubbish but you get my idea it doesn't have to costuch.

I was in wheelchair when i done me leg. I don't go game much but i like helping where​ i can.

I would love the view from up here.

ClaretDiver wrote:Not practical at all, pushing a wheelchair up a spiral incline like that would be too much for many carers. In addition, it would be carnage should you need to evacuate in an emergency.....

DCWat wrote:It'd be well quick wheeling down there, they'd be put in two minutes.