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Michigan Stadium Hates the Handicapped

si.com

Feds Ok'd to join vets' Big House suit

DETROIT (AP) -- A judge on Wednesday allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to join a paralyzed veterans' group in its lawsuit demanding a more than tenfold increase in the number of wheelchair-accessible seats at the University of Michigan football stadium.

The university did not object to the department's motion filed Tuesday.

The Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America sued the university in April, claiming the current stadium design is inaccessible to those in wheelchairs. The group also claims a planned three-year, $226 million renovation will neither fix the problems nor bring the stadium into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

University officials have said they believe the 80-year-old stadium meets ADA standards, and will continue doing so after the renovations are complete.

Cont'd ...
 
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Now that I've visited the Giant Toilet, I can comment on that stadium.

What a huge piece of garbage! Before the game, I walked halfway around the stadium before finding a men's room. At halftime, a number of fans around me got into the aisle in an attempt to head up to the bathrooms or concession stands. The people were standing in the aisle heading up to the exit tunnels around row 70, since most of the stadium is below street level (I was in row 27). For at least 5 minutes, the people near me did not move a single step, there was no movement at all in the aisles. They weren't back in time for the second half kickoff.

I was very fortunate in terms of seating space. I was on the aisle, and I think the seat next to me was emtpy, so I had plenty of room. For the majority of the game, we were all standing whenever the ball was snapped. The crowd noise was nothing near what you hear in the 'Shoe, or at Beaver Stadium or Camp Randall. It's a combination of the fans' (lack of) effort and the shape of the huge bowl (it's hard to believe it has a bigger capacity than PSU's). I didn't see many people shaking keys, as I've seen on TV in the past.

After The Game, I was close enough to walk over to the Buckeye fan section, and be close as the players sang Carmen, Ohio with the band behind them. It was great to see how juiced the players were after the win, with some of them jumping into the stands to get their pads pounded on, Lambeau-style.
 
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21 posted this in the TSUN news thread.

osugrad21 said:
Wonder if LightningRod helped this one?

Dispatch

Up north: Wheelchair access to be improved in Michigan Stadium

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 7:07 AM

The University of Michigan agreed to improve wheelchair access to Michigan Stadium, which is undergoing renovations, as part of a deal with a paralyzed veterans' group that had sued the school.

Cont...
 
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jwinslow;977124; said:
I'm no lawyer, but this looks like more than simple 'repairs'

10436018_46b07e4fa5.jpg

no that is repairs. the concrete bowl was cracking so they repaired it. no seating was changed. my seats have been where they always have, and have not moved.
 
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Most overrated stadium and atmosphere I have ever been to. I was much more impressed with the Shoe then the Big House. I'm not just saying that because it's a Buckeye board either.

It's not like the two games I saw were vastly different situations either. I saw NIU play #4 Michigan in the opener three years ago, and NIU play #1 Ohio State in the opener two years ago. I remember how impressed I was with OSU and how unimpressed I was with UM.
 
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Out of curiosity, did this website just get updated... or has UM called it a renovation themselves while trying to claim it as a repair when the ADA got involved?

Michigan Stadium Renovation
University of Michiganstadium/
MaizeandBlue;1113877; said:
no that is repairs. the concrete bowl was cracking so they repaired it. no seating was changed. my seats have been where they always have, and have not moved.
Let's try another... no disabled father in pittsburgh :wink:, all we're doing is repairs. The luxury seating atop the pressbox was very unsafe for the boosters, so we had to add this:

large_MICHIGAN_STADIUM_DRAWING.jpg


stadiumexpansionpw4.jpg
 
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