The Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990 stands out as of the significantly comprehensive federal legislation regarding accessibility of sports activity facilities by people with disabilities. The legislation has changed how sports facilities are designed and used. Even though the compliance with the ADA can be tedious, it ensures that a sports facility sets a customer tone that will deliver positive results when done properly (“ Sports Facilities-Building For ADA Compliance | SFM”, 2019) .
Building new sports facility requires one to be ADA compliant given the involvement with bigger and mixed-use developments that incorporate sports facilities increasing the need for ADA compliance. People with disabilities ought to have an equal opportunity to access the same facilities and activities as everyone else which is the primary role of the ADA (“ Sports Facilities-Building For ADA Compliance | SFM”, 2019) . The role of ensuring compliance of a sports facility is usually vested on the architect.
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In a nutshell, a sport facility’s compliance with ADA is determined by numerous factors. One, there has to be an accessible parking where it is required that for every twenty five total parking spaces, one should be accessible. Also, accessible entrances including a compliant ramp and doors should be put in place as well as additional amenities such as elevators, accessible locker rooms, and accessible washrooms with grab bars and raised toilets.
Lawsuit: Nevarez v. Forty Niners Football Co. LLC, No. 5:16-cv-07013 (N.D. Cal.)
In this lawsuit, the plaintiffs were a class of wheelchair-bound fans and their families who offered them assistance. The defendant was the San Francisco 49ners whose status of the stadium had not been compliant. The central issue in the lawsuit was that the facility had barriers between the stadium and the parking space, inaccessible seats across all price levels, and physical barriers within the stadium ( Chapoteau, Clifton, & Lewsi, 2019) .
The lawsuit’s hearing decided that it will review a sample of the barriers to determine whether the accessibility standards had been met at the stadium. Considering the plaintiff’s complaints, the facility ought to make accessible seats for all price levels as well as remove the barriers between the stadium and satellite parking lots ( Chapoteau, Clifton, & Lewsi, 2019) . Also, to ensure compliance and avoid lawsuits, the stadium ought to improve accessibility of the stadium for wheelchair use around the facility.
Lawsuit: Sabino v. The Ohio State University, Ohio Southern District Court, Case No. 2:09-cv-00544
The plaintiff in this case was Vincent Sabino who was being represented by the National Association of the Deaf while the defendant was The Ohio State University. NAD sued the University for failing to provide captioning services to cater for the deaf ( Schoepfer & Bochicchio, 2013) . In the case, the Ohio attorney general, the plaintiff, and the university entered into a non-confidential consent decree settling the lawsuit.
In the settlement, the university agreed to make its sporting facilities and events accessible for the deaf as well as the hearing-impaired individuals. Captioning the public announcements and announcements detailing each play would have been used to avoid lawsuits and comply with ADA. The NAD used the suit to call for the Big Ten Conference schools to incorporate captioning as an auxiliary aid in sports facilities ( Schoepfer & Bochicchio, 2013) .
Lawsuit: Feldman v. Pro Football Inc.(2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 6188)
In the lawsuit, Shane Feldman and several other deaf and hearing-impaired Washington Redskins football team fans were the plaintiffs. On the other hand, Pro Football Inc. which owns and operates the Redskins was the defendant ( Schoepfer & Bochicchio, 2013) . The central issue in the case was an argument by the plaintiffs that the defendant did not offer deaf and hearing-impaired fans an equal access to information and announcements made over the public address system.
The court determined that the plaintiff ought to have been accorded equal access to information within the facility. Therefore, the defendant should include captioning to ensure this access by the hearing impaired ( Schoepfer & Bochicchio, 2013) . To avoid lawsuits and ensure ADA compliance, the facility ought to provide captions for public announcements and details of each play as well as referee penalty explanations.
Lawsuit: Daubert v. Lindsay Unified School District, No. 1:2009cv1463-Document 57(E.D. Cal.2011)
Lindsay Unified District School was the defendant in this case while Timothy Daubert was the plaintiff. The spectators who use wheelchairs often attended football games at the school which had designate several locations where these fans could watch the games ( Green, 2014) . The plaintiff argued that the football bleachers were nit wheelchair accessible and that he could not enjoy the games fully.
In the ruling, the court argued that Lindsay Unified had complied with the ADA requirements by providing for companion seats for fans using wheelchairs. Also, the sitting arrangement was complaint with ADA ( Green, 2014) . However, the court used the case to recommend that new facility’ construction and renovation for existing facilities ought to ensure that design and construction was compliant with the 2010 ADA standards applicable.
References
Chapoteau, R. C., Clifton, G. E., & Lewsi, J. (2019, November 18). Sports Venues and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Retrieved from https://www.natlawreview.com/article/sports-venues-and-americans-disabilities-act
Green, L. (2014, November 21). Retrieved from https://www.nfhs.org/articles/disabled-spectator-access-to-facilities-contemporary-legal-standards/
Schoepfer, K., & Bochicchio, J. D. (2013, December). You are being redirected... Retrieved from https://www.athleticbusiness.com/contract-law/sports-venues-facing-more-legal-battles-over-captioning.html
Sports Facilities - Building For ADA Compliance | SFM. (2019, April 1). Retrieved from https://sportadvisory.com/steps-make-sports-facilities-ada-compliant/
