Promising Directions - Tennessee

Father Ryan's New Stadium Goes Way Beyond ADA Requirements

Metal railing bars and people’s backs: that’s usually what Samantha Siedlecki sees during football games when the crowds get wild.

But come August, and Samantha — and anyone who uses a wheelchair — will have an unobstructed view of the game at the new Father Ryan High School football stadium that experts say goes beyond federal requirements for accessibility.

“This will be the first time I won’t have a bar in the way,” said Samantha, a rising senior at the Oak Hill Catholic school. “I feel very fortunate to go to a school where they cared enough to make the stadium so accessible. And it’s not just about me. I’m thinking about all the grandparents and other people in wheelchairs who come to school games.”

The Father Ryan High football field, the first in the school’s 82-year history, still under construction, has two built-in areas where folks who don’t walk independently can sit with their friends and watch games through a glass barrier without railing bars in the way.

In addition to multiple ramps to the bleachers, the facility also offers spacious family restrooms, Samantha’s suggestion, and a wide sidewalk that loops around the field for people to move around freely. Windows in concession and memorabilia buildings by the stadium have been put in closer to the ground so that people in wheelchairs can glance inside and be seen.

Such accommodations are “not typical for high schools, not at all,” said Kenton Dickerson, an independent living specialist with the nonprofit Center for Independent Living of Middle Tennessee in Nashville.

“It sounds like they’ve gone beyond what the ADA requires,” he said referring to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The federal provision bans discrimination of people with disabilities in workplace, housing, transportation and other areas.

“Fortunately in Nashville, we’ve got a lot of new venues, and they’re very accessible. When you get to some of the older places, the problem gets to be that they’re not really accessible. It’s frustrating for people with disabilities.”

Matthew Gillespie, assistant executive director of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, said “other than our schools meeting the legal standards, I’m not aware of others going beyond, but there maybe 20 out there.”

The first home game of the football season at Father Ryan High is slated for Aug. 28. Andrea Robleto, Samantha’s friend from school, said she’ll finally sit with her pal in the same area during football season. Those who accompany people in wheelchairs will be able to check out chairs to sit with them.

“A lot of the times (in the past), I’d want to be with Sam and my other friends, so I’d go and sit a little with my friends and then go back to sit with Sam. Now, we can all sit together.”

The 2,376-seat stadium is a part of a $5.2 million athletic complex. Jim Carell, a local businessman and a 1954 Father Ryan graduate, donated $2 million to the project and challenged the alumni to raise as much. At least $4.3 million has come in, school officials said.

The extra accommodations at Father Ryan came with an extra price tag, but the school’s president, Jim McIntyre, said something else was more important.

“They’re more expensive than traditional accommodations. … The cost is irrelevant to the outcome,” he said looking at the bleachers.

“We want to provide everyone with dignity so not only Samantha but everyone can be a part of the community. We want this to be a community center, where people feel welcomed.”

Source:
The Tennessean (July 13, 2009)
Irish Football Will Be For All
www.tennessean.com/article/20090713/MICRO020203/907150301/1554/MICRO0202/Irish+football+will+be+for+all