U-M Agrees to Expand Disabled Seating

Detroit News

By Marisa Schultz
March 10, 2008

DETROIT - The University of Michigan agreed this afternoon to make the Big House more accessible for disabled patrons and to add more wheelchair seating throughout the stadium, averting a trial in federal court.

"The Big House will now be known as the open house," said an elated Mike Harris, executive director of the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America, who has been pushing since 1997 to bring Michigan Stadium up to modern accessibility standards.

Michigan Stadium, built in 1927, is the largest in the country with a capacity of 107,282.

But the stadium currently only has 88 wheelchair seating areas in each of the end zones.

By the start of the 2008 season, wheelchair users will have 96 additional seats on the east side of the stadium in row 54, under the consent decree signed with the U.S. government on Monday. By 2010 football season, the total number of wheelchair seats will be 329.

Since November, the U.S. Justice Department has been involved in a lawsuit against U-M, claiming the university is breaking federal law by providing insufficient seating for disabled patrons. Leaders at colleges and disability groups around the country have been watching the case closely because its outcome could have broad implications on scores of old stadiums.

U-M is in the midst of a $226 million renovation of the stadium that will widen aisles and seats and create a new press box, concourse, luxury boxes and 3,200 indoor and outdoor club seats. The luxury boxes and club seats will have additional wheelchair accessible spaces.

The Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America filed the original lawsuit against U-M in April 2007, claiming that 1 percent of all seating, or more than 1,000 spaces, needs to be wheelchair accessible to meet modern day standards triggered by U-M's ongoing construction work. The U.S. Justice Department joined that lawsuit on behalf of the veterans when U-M failed to reach an out-of-court agreement on the stadium design with the U.S.

Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights: The federal government will now monitor U-M to ensure the iconic stadium meets the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It's going to be an enjoyable football experience for wheelchair users,"Harris said. "They'll not only have access but they'll have choices for where they want to sit, which wasn't available before "The university will set a benchmark for other universities around the country to duplicate."