Mary Kate Tucker
February 19, 2013
THRC 0813-001
Accessibility Project
For my accessibility project I choose to do the Wells Fargo Center. Being a season ticket
holder, the Wells Fargo Center is like a second home to me and over the years I have noticed
some flaws. I never really thought twice about if the Wells Fargo Center was accessible or not
until this project was presented to us. At first, when I read over the checklist I did not think many
things were going to be wrong with the Wells Fargo Center, and then I did my project. I was
very taken back with the information that I found.
The pathways and entrances at the Wells Fargo Center were a lot better than I expected
them to be but they still had some flaws. All of the entrances meet minimum standard but if
someone has a power wheelchair that is a little bit bigger, there is not enough extra space to get
through the accessible entrance. The thresholds on the doors are perfect at exactly ¼. The one
very good thing about the pathways is that there is a ton of space to move around. The pathways
up to the entrances are huge but the one bad thing about them is that when it rains or snows there
are a lot of giant puddles on them. Also, when it rains the pathways are very slippery and can be
extremely dangerous. A good change would be to put a draining system in the sidewalks and
pathways so that the puddles do not have to be avoided by wheelchair users. One great thing
about the entrances is that there are no ramps anywhere. Overall the entrances meet minimum
standard but changes should be made to make the doors a little bit wider so that wheelchairs that
are larger than minimum standard can fit through without a hassle.
Throughout the Wells Fargo Center there are several elevators that provide access to the
upstairs concourse and the box seating. These elevators are large enough to fit two wheelchairs
with plenty of room for both to move around. All doors are operable with a closed fist and can be
opened without much force. There are two major problems with the access to services. First
thing that needs to be fixed is the seating. There is not 32 inches of space between the tables
around the bars and most of the seating is high top tables. This makes it impossible for a
wheelchair user to sit at the table. The high tops should be replaced with tables that completely
meet minimum standard and the seating should also be spread around the bar areas more so that
a wheelchair has 32 inches of spaces to fit through. The other major issue is the carpet. When
you come through the main entrances there are areas where you can purchase game used jerseys
and look at things that are going to be auctioned off. These areas are carpeted but the threshold is
1 inch high. A wheelchair user cannot get over the threshold easily and would have a very hard
time viewing the objects if they wanted to. The carpet should be changed or they should at least
find a solution to making the threshold smaller. For instance, they could take some of the
padding out from under the carpet so that it is closer to the ground and the threshold will be
lowered.
The restrooms are a lot better than I thought they were. All of the faucet heights meet
minimum standard. There are two accessible stalls in every restroom. There are two grab bars in
each stall and the toilet height is 18 inches. There is a 5x5 feet opening for each accessible stall.
The stall is completely accessible for a wheelchair user. Other than the bar areas, none of the
restrooms have a main door to open so it makes it very easy to maneuver in and out of. The
opening is much larger than 32 inches. It is about 60 inches and there is enough room to turn
around if needed. There is a slanted mirror in each restroom. The rims of all the sinks are 30
inches high and the sinks are deep enough to fit a wheelchair under. The only downside of the
sinks is that the pipes are out in the open. The pipes should be insulated or at least have a little
wall put around them so that people without sensations will not get burnt. The soap dispensers
and paper towel holders need to be moved down because they are located too high on the wall.
The worst part of the Wells Fargo Center is the parking lot. There are plenty of spaces
and there are also plenty of van accessible spaces but people would not realize that because there
are no signs marking the parking spaces. The universal symbol is painted on the ground in every
one of the spaces but many of them are faded and are very hard to see. Even though the symbol
is painted on the ground, each spot needs to be marked by a universal sign. I have seen so many
people at the Wells Fargo Center, park in accessible spots because they were unaware that it was
one. The parking lot needs a major change and I am sure it would not take much money to do so.
It is a very easy fix that they really need to get on top of.
I was very unaware of all of the things that were wrong with the Wells Fargo Center
when it comes to accessibility but there are also so many things that they do correct. The other
day when I was at the game, they made an announcement that they had just come out with a new
application for smart phones. This app allows people with a hearing impairment to read captions
on their screen of exactly what the announcer is saying when he is saying it. I thought that was a
very interesting thing to have and also a very important thing to have. The other really good
thing about this stadium is the accessible seating throughout it. There are three designated
sections for accessible seating and also all of the boxes are accessible. I attached a seating chart
and highlighted all of the accessible areas. Unlike other stadiums, the Wells Fargo Center allows
up to three of your family members to sit with you. Seating for each game is available on a first
come first serve basis. I am glad I chose to do my project on this location because it taught me a
lot about a place I go to very often. I never really paid much attention to it but now I am going to
keep my eyes open for things.