Middlesbrough

On arrival the coach was parked outside the disabled entrance. A steward told us which way to go which was around a long walk way but on the level. We arrived at a lift that only takes one wheelchair/carer at a time. Good but at half time a bit slow when everyone needs the toilet. The toilet at the bottom of the lift was very clean and had hot water etc. The area which is elevated is in general brilliant but dont go to the other end of it as if supporters stand you cannot see the other end of the pitch. There should have been a half time hostess service but this didnt happen also there were no stewards at all in or near to the disabled area although there should have been. Supporters stood in the aisle on the steps but the steward at the bottom watched the game rather than clear the steps which meant that most of us could not see the full pitch. At the end of the game when fighting broke out between rival fans on the adjacent stand we had to use the lift ourselves to leave the area. Not a good idea under health and safety rules. On leaving the ground the coaches were given a police escort which was good.

It was extremely disappointing to hear from two of our visually impaired members of the Arsenal Disabled Supporters’ Association that there was no audio headsets available for the match on the 17th April 2017. Surely this should be available at all Premiership Matches.

Our first visit as away fans to the Riverside Stadium travelling in a wheelchair accessible mini-bus that is part of our Club’s official away travel.

Access to the Ground

Well signed off the ring road from the motorway. You almost drive past it to come back to it. Entrance for the away fans is round the back from the main entrance. As part of the official away travel we were able to park right outside the doors we used to enter the stadium. Stadium has a very dramatic setting on the side of the River Tees. There appeared to be numerous food vendor vans around the stadium that we drove past.

Facilities in the Ground for Away Wheelchair Fans

Viewing Areas

This season they have moved the location of the away fans from behind the goal to around the corner. Unfortunately, when we visited they were yet to complete the raised viewing area for away wheelchair users in this location, so we had to make do and sit at pitch level in front of the first row of seating. This meant when it rained, we got soaked. As our tickets cost £30, (for what I deemed inferior provision) I have requested a refund but am still waiting for a response 2-weeks on after rejecting their first offering of a Programme signed by the Middlesbrough players (fine perhaps if you are home fans but not something that is of interest to us).

I have since seen that the new away wheelchair users’ viewing platform is open, so hopefully someone will soon be able to supply a review of this.

Refreshments

As we take our own we did not purchase any but there seemed to be the usual range available from counters underneath the back of the stand, which we passed when we entered the stadium. Not sure how easy they will be to get to from the new platform, presumably via a lift.

Accessible Toilets

Two large clean accessible toilets available at ground level. I am guessing that with the new raised platform the location of the accessible toilets for away wheelchair fans will change, so seems little point in giving much detail.

Headset Commentaries for Visually Impaired Fans

LPF’s website description states there are commentaries available at the Riverside. I emailed the Club 5-days before our visit, using the supporters@mfc.co.uk address given on their web page entitled “Disabled Supporters”. After 3 days when I had had no reply, I telephoned and was told they did not provide commentaries for visually impaired fans.

Attitude of Club Officials

The Club Officials we met were helpful and dealt with my complaint in a professional way on the day. They did email on the Monday following the match but appeared to have not followed through since then. My husband was not impressed that the ponchos we were offered, were in the Club’s colours with their badge emblazoned on it, perhaps not the most sought after rainwear for away fans!

After the Match

No more than the usual post-game congestion. Grateful that they let the away official transport have priority exiting the Stadium given our long journey home. As we were leaving I did notice close to the ground on the left, a small new retail park was being completed with a coffee shop, dining pub and I think what will be a supermarket.

Will We go Again?

Knowing that (unlike on our first visit) there is now provision for away wheelchair users, which will go someway to off-setting the high ticket price and encourage us to make a second visit when our team next play at Middlesbrough. I do wonder why one of the highest ticket prices in the league is at a Club in an area known for its average low incomes, I wonder how accessible this makes football to local disabled people?

view from elevated wheelchair platform – away fans (accessed via platform lift)

Sad to report that our trip to the Riverside was spoilt somewhat by a jobsworth stadium steward. My wife is disabled, and although she is not as seriously incapacitated as some is not able to walk for anything other than very short distances without experiencing painful discomfort. To this end, and after checking out the facilitiies for the Riverside on this site, we managed to be directed to the parking spaces outside the away end, and ensured that my wife’s blue badge was clearly displayed. Around about 20 minutes later, as the crowd started to build up, we were instructed to move to the car park approximately 500 yards away as the spaces were reserved for permit holders resulting in us having to leave the ground before the end of the match in order to avoid the bustling and jostling that is unavoidable at the end of a game. Sad to tell that the space we were forced to vacate, along with another 2 out of the 4 available remained empty throughout, this was by far the worse experience we have had in many years of following Chelsea all over England and Europe and one that could so easily have been avoided if the steward involved had any compassion for, or knowledge of, the type of problem encountered by those who are unfortunate enough to not be as able bodied as the majority of us. I doubt if we will ever return to the Riverside after yesterday’s experience.

Middlesboro has a great viewing area for wheelchair users, when there is no one sitting in front of us. This may be different if the lower tier was used.

Only one significant problem, the wheelchair person with carer, makes use of an open air lift; if this is not comfortable for the carer, then the Middlesborough steward will assist whilst the carer walks up the steps, adjacent to the lift.

The lift is single use and so time consuming if there are several wheelchairs attending, especially at half time when accessing the toilet.

The stewards, in the main, were excellent, helpful and accommodating. Middleborough still operates a Half time steward service, who will bring prior paid for food and drinks to the disabled area. This is very helpful given the single use lift access.

When I queried why we were not offered pitch level spaces, the same as the Middlesborough wheelchair supporters, who were quite visibly sitting at pitch level, I was told by the chief steward for away fans, it would be too dangerous for us to sit at pitch level and they had made the decision due to health and safety reasons!

Middlesbrough were also accommodating Ambulant Disabled Supporters. We were allocated tickets from ROW 29 onwards which wasn’t suitable for one of our members. This problem was resolved quickly with the assistance of Middlesbrough DLO Simon Macdonald, prior to travelling.