That's just the brief details - scroll down for the full review!
This was our first visit to the Utilita Arena Sheffield. We booked tickets for 2 events a couple of years back, but unfortunately, both tours were cancelled and not rescheduled. As a rule, for nationwide events that visit Sheffield, we would book Leeds or Newcastle, if available, as there’s less travelling for us
BOOKING
Accessible booking for the arena can, in the case of wheelchair and companion seats, be made online with Ticketmaster. The arena’s website has a brilliant guide you can download to guide you through the booking process, which you can find here. For any other access requirements such as hearing or visually impaired, or if you are happy to have ambulant seating (ie. you can manage a few steps) you must contact the accessible booking telephone line.
As we needed wheelchair access, we looked on the Ticketmaster app. As I’d been ill for over a month, I’d put off booking my tickets until quite late, so when I did, availability was very limited. I managed to book 2 tickets in Block 108 and also an accessible parking ticket (see Locations and Getting there, below)
LOCATION AND GETTING THERE
The Utilita Arena Sheffield is located away from the centre of the city of Sheffield. Just minutes from the M1 and the Meadowhall shopping centre, travel by road is easy but the arena also has a dedicated tram stop on the Sheffield SuperTram network.
Some of the roads around the arena will likely become busy at peak times as there are small retail parks, restaurants and an Ikea store nearby, but we skipped that section of road by taking the A631 when we left the M1, rather than the direct route of the A6178. Estimated arrival times on both roads were very similar mid-afternoon on a Saturday. There is a Premier Inn and an Ibis hotel a very short distance from the arena.
The SuperTram stop on the Yellow route of the network is only a short distance from the arena. The route links the arena with the Meadowhall shopping centre in one direction and Sheffield city centre leading to the North of Sheffield in the other direction. The SuperTram network is fully accessible. To use mobility scooters on the buses and trams in Sheffield, your scooter will need to meet several conditions and you need to apply for a travel permit.
For some events, there is an agreement with the Meadowhall shopping centre to use their car parks to park for free and use the tram to the arena, which only takes 7 minutes.
There is onsite accessible car parking which can be booked when you book your event tickets. We booked for the Blue car park on Ticketmaster so we received a digital ticket in the Ticketmaster app which we uploaded to Google Wallet. Event parking is £14 but the accessible bays are away from the main car parking, right at the side of the arena, close to the entrances. If spaces are available, you can turn up and pay on the day (by card only), but you are not guaranteed a space.
As you approach the arena, there are brown tourist signs for the arena at the main junctions. As you turn off the main road to the arena, you’ll be met by a steward. They will scan your ticket or take your payment, and direct you to the next security barrier. Stewards at the next barrier showed us through and directed us around the side of the arena to the accessible bays. The bays were all well marked with cross-hatching on both sides. There was no other traffic passing through this car park so it was quiet. People from the tram stop were walking through to the arena entrances.
One thing we did note was a lack of dropped kerbs - there was one mid-way along the side of the arena and not another one until you were around the corner, in front of the entrance.
GETTING IN
Our tickets were marked to enter through the Green Concourse entrance, Entrance C. The arena concourse is above ground level so we had two options to get in. Firstly, opposite the accessible parking, there were concrete steps to the upper lever with a two-tiered ramp to the right-hand side of them. The ramp was quite steep so we opted for the second option - the lift!
We had a security check at the door, consisting of a quick bag check and a scan with an electronic wand then along to another member of staff on the door to scan our tickets. Once inside, we were directed to the lift and told to ask for the concourse level. The lift was only small but had a member of staff in to help you find your way around.
From the lift, there was a door out onto the concourse.
FACILITIES
The concourse was fairly wide but narrowed down on this occasion by trade stands for the motorbike event. Although the event was sold out, entrance time on the tickets was staggered and some ticket holders had paddock access, so it didn’t get too busy to the extent of it being too difficult to get around.
The concourse has the usual collection of food and drink outlets, including one which is alcohol-free. There was a variety of hot foods and snacks on sale. There was also a self-service ‘Fast Track’ electronic bar for quick service of beer and cider, which was too high to be used by wheelchair users.
None of the outlets had any specific lowered counters but all of the main counters were at a reasonable height with card machines I could reach and see the screen
There were large toilet blocks on the concourse but a limited number of accessible toilets. On the concourse level, there are 4 radar-keyed unisex facilities, two of which are down each side of the arena. The toilets are narrow with not much space at the side of the toilet to wheel into to transfer. The large bins take up a lot of space but the sink, mirrors, and hand dryer were all at a reasonable height.
The worst part about the toilets was finding them! They were set back from the main concourse, in an alcove. It makes them safer with the outward opening doors so that they aren’t swinging out into the concourse. Although there was a huge wheelchair logo on the actual door, you couldn’t see it from the concourse unless you were right in front of it. The main male and female blocks had large signs on the walls above the doors but the accessible ones only had a small green sign which was really tricky to spot in a crowd. Being positioned near the entrances to the main toilet blocks will potentially cause an issue if there are queues
SEATING
From the concourse, there were sets of double doors into the arena bowl. The doorways are all clearly marked with block numbers to find your way to your seats. The doors themselves are light and easy to open but not wide enough to wheel through with only one open.
Inside the doors, staff were on hand to guide you to where you needed to be. We were in Block 108, which was marked on the glass on the front of the bay but the individual bays were not marked. Response from the staff was ‘sit where you like!’ - this might not be ideal for someone who is neurodiverse! The bay had fold-up seats for companions that were quite comfortable.
Something which I suppose bugged me but wasn’t a major issue - all of the seats in the arena had a complimentary programme on the back of the seat. In the wheelchair bay, there was a single programme on the back of companion seats. So, in theory, all of the main seating had one each but accessible bay customers only got one between two. When we mentioned it in conversation with a member of staff near the bay, she just huffed and said ‘well, take that one then’ and took one off the back of one of the other companion seats. It wasn’t a complaint, I was just pointing out it had been an oversight thinking she may mention it to her supervisor or something. Obviously, she didn't take the comment in the tone in which it was meant!
A member of staff came around just before the event started to check our names off a list and make sure we were in the right seat.
We were a good height above the row in front of us too, which is good. The platform itself takes up the space of 2 rows of seating, rows N and P, so even if the people in front of us were standing up, we’d still have a clear view.
There were multiple access areas around the concourse but for this event, these were the only accessible areas as there was no floor seating available.
Our view across the arena was good. With an event such as this one, there isn’t really a ‘front’ but we were actually lucky to be at the right end of the arena for the DL12 branding, podium presentation, and a side view of the amazing ‘Honda Hill’ - a motorbike assault course constructed over the arena seating!
We weren’t quite expecting the ‘front row’ view that we had of the show! When ‘Honda Hill’ was being used, the bikes were exiting the hill near the next set of concourse doors along from us, turning around and coming round, down the stairs next to us! It was great being able to congratulate the riders in person and pat them on the back. It was even better when one of them was the best trial rider in the world EVER, Toni Bou!
GETTING BACK OUT
Although the event was sold out, the arena wasn’t at full capacity so it wasn’t too busy. We waited for everyone else around us to leave before we headed back out onto the concourse. By that point, there were no queues for the toilets and the trade stands were all packing away.
Rather than heading back to the lift to get back down to the car park level, we headed out of the large doors and took the scenic way back to the car, down the ramp!
Pulling out of our parking bay and heading back towards where we came in, a steward directed us to take a left, in the opposite direction! We followed the road around the back of some adjoining building which brought us back out onto the road network avoiding the other arena car parks.