Barrow

I am a powerchair user and my husband is a white cane user. This was our second visit as away fans to the SO Legal stadium. As with our first visit 18 months ago (which we reviewed at the time) we travelled to the game in our Club’s official away transport. As the experience for away wheelchair fans has substantially changed since our last visit, this review is very different to our last one.

Arrival and Entry to the Ground
Our accessible minibus was parked in the lay-by at the away end. As there is no dropped-kerb in this lay-by I did have to then trundle down the road to the nearest dropped-kerb but it was a short distance and our minibus driver was very good in ensuring the passing traffic was aware of me. The steward at the coaches told me to go round the corner to his colleagues who then brought me back to the new large gates by the traffic lights at the away end. I was silly excited as when I had phoned Barrow for my tickets (which were then conveniently emailed to me) I was told that I would be making history, this was the first game at Barrow that would have away wheelchair users sat at the away end and using the new accessible toilet at the away end!!!! We were sat at the home end when we last visited. After all my years of campaigning against away wheelchair users being sat at the home end this felt like a real victory.

Seating Area
The new seating area for away wheelchair fans was immediately in front of us as we entered the away end on the left and consisted of one of the now popular “bus stop” shelters. The only item in the shelter when we arrived was a library stool but we were assured that chairs for our carers were being sourced, which arrived quickly. Now for the bad news. The view of the pitch if you sit in the shelter is rubbish. Due in part to the location of the shelter being beyond the pitch and also due to the barriers that have been constructed at the end of the shelter nearest the pitch, which are right in your eye line when you are seated. As a result, I chose to engage the seat riser on my powerchair and positioned myself outside the shelter to the left of it. From here I was above the railings and had an unobstructed view of the whole pitch. My husband stood at the side of me (standing he was conveniently on level with me with my seat as high as it would go). Using his monocle, this was good for him looking straight down the length of the pitch. That said, I recognise that the majority of wheelchair users will not have a seat riser. Another away fan at the game who was using a manual wheelchair, watched the game by standing leaning on the railing which again was something he could do but would not be possible for many wheelchair users. He was clear that had he remained seated he would not have seen much of the match. Whilst on a dry day in August we were happy to be outside the shelter, on a wet day we would clearly have the choice of staying dry and missing most of the match or seeing the match but getting soaked! I appreciate that Barrow probably think they have done their best with the available space but I suspect that even with this limitation it could have been better if they had involved wheelchair users in the design which I fear did not happen. Perhaps the positioning of the silver metal railings adjacent to the shelter could be revisited?

All the rest of the away fans were in an all-seated covered stand to the right of us and very much high up. I didn’t see them but the only access to these seats must have been up a flight of steps. This left me wondering what would happen if there were a number of away fans (in addition to wheelchair users) for whom a flight of steps was not an option. There were no easy access pitch level seating and the bus shelter was relatively small. There was half a small stand to our left which is also used I understand for away fans but again from what I saw it did not offer step-free seating.

Audio Described Match Commentary
Our understanding is that this is not available.

Accessible Toilet
The new accessible toilet at the away end is immediately on your right as you enter through the large gates but the path down to it is steep. I was fine in a powerchair but the ambulant disabled fan I was with said he found it really too steep for him to walk down safely on his stick and equally would not have liked his brother to have got him up and down it in his manual chair. Perhaps a handrail on the slope would be useful? The toilet is at the bottom of the slope with the entrance to it round to the right up a metal ramp with a much gentler slope. There was a metal barrier across this slope, no doubt to prevent away fans from getting round but it did mean we had to move it to get to the toilet. The toilet is kept locked (good to prevent misuse) you need a steward to open it (it is not a radar lock) thankfully there was a steward there who on seeing me offered to unlock it.

The accessible toilet cubicle is spacious and as this was the first match it had been used, it was very clean. Right hand transfer with grab rails on both sides but none behind the toilet and no emergency pull cord. The only toilet tissue was an extremely large roll sat on the top of the cistern so when you were sat on the toilet it was out of reach. An accessible toilet roll holder on the wall would be good but not one that is behind you when you are on the loo and not one that only gives you one little piece before it breaks. There was a sanitary bin but no bin for used paper towels which I had to just leave on the floor. The supply of paper towels were just loose on top of the water geyser and nearly all fell on the floor when I reached for them, for this reason a wall mounted dispenser would be useful. I could not get the water geyser to work and could only get cold water out of the single tap. There was a free-standing container of hand gel. No hand drier and no wall hooks. Perhaps most significant was there was no light switch. I suspect this was because there was a PRI sensor but it wasn’t working. There is only one very small window high up at the back, it was dark in the toilet on a sunny afternoon so getting this light working will be essential for evening matches and as the winter games approach. Again, it seemed the new facility had sadly not been “road-tested” or I am sure all these little things would have been picked up on before paying fans arrived.

Catering
The bar for the away end is located opposite the accessible toilet and is where snacks and hot drinks are also sold from. All we bought was a coffee for £2.50. My husband said the staff were friendly and helpful; they gave him helpful instructions on the location of the card reader, they double cupped the coffee (they told him where the lids were but did not offer to put one on for him). The area where the bar is located with the toilets is relatively small and I would foresee getting very crowded before KO and at half time.

Stewards
Apart from the mentions we have already made we had no other interactions with the stewards. Given the newness of the facility, I thought they might have come for feedback/to check we were ok but equally we were not stopped from positioning ourselves as we chose to. At the end of the game, they wished us a safe journey home. A friend of mine who attended with her autistic children said the stewards were brilliant with them which was good to hear.

Leaving the Stadium
After staying beyond the final whistle to clap our players, we were able to make a quick exit the way we had entered and after being loaded on to our minibus we were quickly away without any queues anywhere.

Overall
For us the lasting memory of this game will be the six and half hour journey to get to Barrow and the five-hour journey home! I cannot overstate how important it is that away wheelchair users are now accommodated at the away end at Barrow (see photo of this taken before I raised my seat) I therefore do feel very bad a being critical of the new facilities. I make my comments simply in the hope that they will result in the very welcome new provisions becoming even better for away disabled fans with some small tweaks that will result in big improvements. Overall, well done Barrow.

I am a powerchair user and my husband is a white cane user. We visited as away fans travelling in our Club’s official away travel coach. This was our first visit to the SO Legal Ground.

Arrival and Entry to the Ground
Scenic hour’s drive through the South Lakes area from the M6. The coach then drove through Asda’s car park in order to get to the away end of the stadium where we all disembarked. To get to the wheelchair accessible entrance, based on the instructions we had previously been given, keeping the stadium on our left, we turned left at the traffic lights and left into the small car park which had Reception at the far side of it. Our entrance into the ground was then on the left.

Seating Area
We were told that there is wheelchair access to the away end but no accessible toilets, which made it impracticable for us to sit there. We were accommodated on a slightly raised platform (see photo) between the corner flag and two rows of seating which extended to the tunnel behind the home goal. This platform which we were informed had had a roof added for the first time since the previous home game, accommodated me plus one more away wheelchair fan and another on a scooter with I think 3 home fans beyond them. This left enough room for my husband to stand in the corner next to me and other carers/companions to stand behind the wheelchair users. There were some free-standing chairs available on the platform. Home wheelchair fans who arrived after this platform had filled up were accommodated in the adjacent “bus shelter” and I noticed one went off towards the tunnel but I did not see where they went. We had a good view down the pitch but my view of the home goal was partially blocked at times by those in the first two seats to my right. We had no problem with anyone standing/walking in front of us during the match. We would say that the platform was a bit “Heath Robinson” but in the words of their staff “we are doing our best”. For away fans sat at the home end (at the opposite end of the ground to all the other away fans) the experience was probably as good as it can be. On the positive side, as we were allowed into the ground when we arrived at 1 pm, we were able to say hello to all our players as they had to walk past us to get to the changing room and our Manager stopped and had a conversation with us. We were told that they don’t often get away wheelchair fans. Whilst the home wheelchair fans sat with us were welcoming, one of them giving each of us a Club pin badge, it struck me that had I been a home ST holder I would have been unhappy tif my usual space had been taken by away fans, leaving me only spaces with a less good view, particularly if this was a crunch game!

Audio Match Commentary
Not aware this is available.

Accessible Toilets
Two toilets, labelled “All Gender”, both large and accessible located in the building immediately behind the wheelchair platform. Door into this area was difficult for me to open without assistance, I got through it going in but I doubt I would got back through it by myself. Both toilets were sparkling clean with a good array of grab rails, free sanitary products and nappy wipes. There was a radiator but it was turned off, although as the toilets were in a larger building they were much warmer than many I have been in. I could not get any warm water (which is always a disappointment for handwashing in winter). Equally it seemed the hand drier was not working but there were hand towels, although the bin for them was so small it was difficult to reach from my chair.

Catering
Two large wooden huts on the left as we entered. Coffee £2, which we thought was excellent value, staff member offered to carry it for us, which was much appreciated. We asked if they did chips, which they didn’t but told us we would be allowed out of the ground to go to the van that did do chips but instead we bought from them sausage rolls, £3.50, beautiful flaky pastry and non-greasy, served in a paper bag which made it easy to carry and eat.

Club Officials
Our first contact with Barrow staff was with Dave Pointer, the Ticket Office Manager, when I discovered that you had to contact Barrow to purchase our tickets rather than buy them through our own Club as our non disabled fans did. We have had bad experiences doing this with other Clubs but Dave was friendly and efficient from the start, with the tickets arriving in my inbox whilst I was still talking to him. I spoke to him a second time in the week before the match to get directions on where we needed to go after we left the coach at the away end. As well as giving me directions he told me to go to Reception on arrival and he would show us into the stadium (which he did as well as telling us where the loos and refreshments were). Additionally, many of the Club staff who passed by in front of us before the match stopped and chatted to us, including the press officer who gave us a complementary programme. Never before in one of our many LPF Reviews have I made mention of a Club mascot. We believe that Bluey Bluebird, is the hardest working mascot we have ever encountered. From 1 pm he never stopped, he was everywhere, making a fuss of everyone. When he first saw us, he immediately jumped the wall at the side of the pitch and climbed over the scaffold of our platform to have his photo taken with us. He waved to us every time he passed by and showed off his dance moves. It was lovely to see him making such a fuss of all the kids. Well done Bluey.

Leaving the Stadium
Dave appeared as he said he would at the end of the game to escort us back round to our bus at the away end. Thankfully the pavement going round was not too crowded and for the first time this year, it was still light at the end of the game, so all was good and once boarded, our bus got easily away.

Overall
We hate as away fans having to be at the home end but if it has to be then we got as good experience as was possible in these circumstances as we were made very welcome by all. As a small Club, newly promoted from non-league, we are more understanding of them saying they are “doing their best” and were satisfied from what we experienced, that they are. All the Club staff we had contact with were very friendly and eager to make our visit as good as possible. We would happily return despite the journey being the longest for us this season!