PADRES NEED MORE ACCESSIBLE SEATS
People with disabilities are used to a few things. For us, life presents more daily challenges than for the average nondisabled person. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming or even unfair. But we also know every adversity presents an opportunity. Every challenge represents a chance to overcome something.
One such opportunity presented itself recently.
One of my favorite activities in life is being a San Diego Padres season ticket member. During Padres games, you can find me among the Friar Faithful in section 133 in right field. With two-time All-Star infielder Jake Cronenworth hitting many home runs out there, it is known as the “Crone zone.” Even better, as someone who wears three prosthetic limbs, including one on my leg, I don’t have to deal with stairs or minimal legroom. My pair of season seats are wheelchair ones with plastic folding chairs.
I love those seats but know that members are regularly moved to sections different from their regular locations for opening day and postseason games. For example, I sat in three different sections during the 2022 postseason; all were still wheelchair sections. As a blue-level member, I have access to 20 games, so when I wish to go to additional games, my friend Brian Ferguson purchases the tickets for me. Brian also has a disability himself, and because he has been a member at a higher level since 2016, he has access to the presales sooner than me.
This winter, for the opening day member presale, imagine our surprise when we dutifully logged on and found this many disability seats available: zero. Every single accessible seat had been sold.
Unfortunately, sports teams can offer accessible seats as a filter on the team’s website, but have no way of verifying if the buyer truly needs disability access because the U.S. Justice Department says venues cannot require proof of disability as a condition for purchasing tickets for accessible seats. It can be tracked for season tickets but is virtually impossible for single-game sales. As an example, the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers reportedly require members to sign attestation forms. But the Buccaneers cannot monitor this for single games. Like most teams in various sports leagues, the Buccaneers hold back a certain number of wheelchair accessible seats, but once the rest of the stadium sells out, the team makes those seats available.
This means for opening day 2023, Brian and I have thus far been shut out. There were no wheelchair accessible seats available during the presale or on the team’s website.
When I contacted the Padres about this issue via email, I was referred to Gabriel Kunde, the director of ticket operations, who acknowledged the situation but said nothing could be done.
This is where I wonder if the Padres, an organization known for its innovative and progressive ways — especially in making Petco Park extremely accessible — could be visionaries in this area. Some ideas:
Host a presale exclusively for members who need wheelchair accessible seats or utilize other accessibility services.
Require the registration number assigned to blue-zone placards issued by the California DMV in order to access these seats (or at least one per order).
Employ a disability services staff member to handle issues like the one Brian and I are facing. The team has done this previously but a search of the staff directory online doesn’t indicate this position currently exists.
Generally, access issues are present because we live in a world of ableism: the practice of overlooking access needs because the majority of people do not rely on them. But the truth is employing universal design and access benefits us all. Sidewalk curb cuts, for instance, were implemented for people who are wheelchair or motorized scooter users. Yet they are ideal for those pushing baby strollers too.
If the Padres attempted to solve this thorny issue, perhaps other professional teams would follow. As it stands, these accessible seats mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act were created to provide equal access to fans with disabilities to Padres games. And in the case of opening day, they are not available.
As a lifelong baseball fan and founder of the Alex Montoya Foundation — which amplifies disability challenges and triumphs — I would love for my Padres to not let this opportunity pass. Otherwise it may reoccur should the team reach the postseason or World Series again. Or it may reoccur for opening day 2024.
This challenge is tough for everyone. But it is also a real opportunity for my Padres to hit it out of the park!