Local describes how hard it is for people with disabilities to navigate DHL Cape Town Stadium
'It took us about half an hour or so to get to our seats,' says Seymour.
Picture: Hans Lucas / AFP
Lester Kiewit speaks to listener Seymour about his family’s recent experience, and then to Gina Woodburn, CEO of DHL Cape Town Stadium, about the arrangements one needs to make beforehand with event organisers.
Listen below.
Seymour and his family went to watch the test match between the Springboks and All Blacks at DHL Stadium on 7 September.
Seymour says he went with his mom, father and father-in-law, who are in their late 70s. One of them is in a wheelchair and the others require crutches.
Seymour recalls his experience as 'brilliant', but the journey to get in and out of the stadium was less so as it is not accessible to people living with disabilities.
"We took an Uber because we didn't know if the MyCiTi busses made available to the public for transport were going to be conducive to wheelchair users or people in crutches, and the Uber dropped us off at the McDonald's opposite the stadium."
- Seymour
"We had an absolute brilliant time! Staff were very friendly. We didn't have to queue, but some of the things that may assist disabled people was that our seats were on the opposite side of the stadium from our entry point, so getting there was a bit of a nightmare - we had to take breaks... it took us about half an hour or so to get to our seats."
- Seymour
"There was an ER-24 golf court but they couldn't assist us... and at the end of the match, our main frustration was getting out of the stadium because the Uber couldn't come pick us up where they dropped us off... the road at the McDonald's was closed and we had to get to Helen Suzman Boulevard which was almost impossible... a sergeant had to arrange for a vehicle to drive my mom and dad to the main road."
- Seymour
Gina Woodburn, CEO of DHL Cape Town Stadium, responds by saying disabled patrons need to pre-arrange their seats and parking upon booking...
"For each large event that's hosted at the stadium, a traffic management plan is put together and that plan takes into account disabled transportation. So, if we start with Ubers, they won't get close to the stadium after the game because you can only get in and out with a vehicle pass to control traffic in the area."
- Gina Woodburn, CEO - DHL Cape Town Stadium
"Medics are also appointed at the parking spot to assist."
- Gina Woodburn, CEO - DHL Cape Town Stadium
"If you have a disability, the easiest way to get to the stadium is to pre-arrange it. The disabled parking area is P5 which is between the stadium and the athletics track and that's a dedicated area and the closest parking area to the big ramp that goes up from the main entrance. But that needs to pre-arranged just as the case with the seating."
- Gina Woodburn, CEO - DHL Cape Town Stadium
To pre-arrange seats and parking, Woodburn suggests patrons contact the event organisers; they are responsible for granting special access to people with disabilities.
Email info@dhlstadium.co.za for assistance.
Seymour is happy with Woodburn's response and adds that considerations for assistance inside the stadium would also be helpful.
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.