Overview

As a young Sheffield United fan I want to travel to away matches to back my team and Peterborough united seemed like a good idea. I am unfortunately confined to a wheelchair and away grounds can sometimes seem daunting experiences: where is the accessible parking, where are the seats, are they accessible, where are there disabled toilets etc.? Supporting your team is a great feeling (especially when you win) and with an understanding of the problems you might encounter, I want to share my experiences of football grounds with you so you can feel a bit more confident about stadium accessibility in the future.

Transport & Parking

ABAX Stadium did not have any designated blue badge parking spaces for away supporters and there didn’t look to be any visible for home supporters either. However there was a huge car park five minutes from the ground with lots of spaces all big enough for cars with tail lifts and wide enough for doors to open fully. We arrived just half an hour before kick off and there were still plenty of spaces for us to park in. There were no difficulties getting to the ground either because the walkway was fairly flat and easy to follow.

Access

Signage at the ground was useless but you can easily find where you are with the help of stewards. There were traditional football turnstiles but the stewards directed us through a doorway and into the concourse. The stand we were in was very old with a narrow aisle so I, like all the others in wheelchairs, had to squeeze as far into the bay as possible to allow others to move down. There are two newer stands for home supporters so I’m sure you would have no problems in those but the old stand was a bit awkward.

Toilets

The concourse in the away end was a very small area so my advice would be not to go at half time when many people queue up for drinks and snacks. You could clearly see the entrance to the disabled toilet and it was quite small, but it did have all the necessary things to assist and it was well maintained also. The toilet in the oldest stand was a straightforward process really. Just don’t go at half time.

Staff

The stewards were polite and helpful, indicating where we had to go immediately and in the stadium they held back people over-enthusiastically celebrating, which you cannot always guarantee. All in all people were helpful.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

We were positioned at the front of the stand so the view was not obscured by anyone. A bit of bias here but the best part of the experience was that Sheffield United won the game 3-1!