In the ongoing effort to get sports fans off the couch and through the turnstiles, sports venues have taken advantage of audio and video technology to turn the in-game experience into a seemingly ceaseless barrage of sights and sounds. For some patrons, it can be too much to take.
Two major Detroit sports venues announced Thursday that they would be more accommodating to individuals with special sensory needs. Comerica Park will become the first MLB ballpark certified by Birmingham, Ala.-based accessibility advocate KultureCity and Little Caesars Arena will become the first NBA/NHL area to receive such certification.
According to Fox affiliate WSYM-TV in Lansing, Mich., these venues will make available bags containing noise-cancelling headphones, fidget tools, verbal cue cars and weighted lap pads, and patrons who still experience sensory overload will be granted access to quiet locations within each facility. Venue staff members are trained and certified by leading medical professionals to recognize guests with sensory needs, and also how to handle a situation in which someone experiences sensory overload.
Said Chris Granger, group president for Sports & Entertainment at Ilitch Holdings, Inc., “We’re thrilled to partner with KultureCity and provide guests at Comerica Park and Little Caesars Arena a comfortable and protected experience when they attend a sporting event, concert or show."
