A venue that is part of a University campus should be fully accessible, right? You’d think so. Recently renovated and having hosted some of the biggest names in music, is it all it makes out to be? I’ll tell you!
BOOKING
Accessible bookings are made online via AXS, the venue's official ticketing partner.
I had problems booking for this event. The Manic Street Preachers did an album presale for the tour. If you pre-ordered a copy of the new album ‘Critical Thinking’ (due for release 7th Feb 2025) from the official UK store (link on the MSP website) before 3pm on Tuesday, 29 October 2024, you would receive a code for pre-sale access. Great, I thought! I pre-ordered the album and waited for the code and link to be emailed to me, ready for the pre-sale starting at 9.30am, Wednesday 30th.
Wednesday morning arrived, and I checked my emails and excitedly followed the link. The link redirected me to the University Halls website AXS ticket portal, as I would expect. Despite being logged in to my account, which has me registered as an access customer requiring wheelchair tickets, there was no accessible option showing. I logged out and back in again, clicked multiple options, closed the window, and followed the link from the start. Nothing. No accessible ticket option anywhere. AXS are usually really good, having a specific category to click on for access tickets (see some of my other videos), but I couldn’t find anything anywhere.
After 20 minutes of clicking and thinking I was going around the twist, I clicked to start an online chat with AXS to see if I could get some help. ‘Cory AXS’ (whether or not they use their real names, I don’t know!) replied promptly, saying accessible tickets needed to be booked in the general sale starting at 9.30am on Friday, November 1st.
When I questioned why I couldn’t purchase tickets today, even after buying the album in the pre-order, I was told accessible ticketing is dealt with directly by the venue itself. I would need to speak to them to see if they could assist me further. I’m not usually one to moan, but is this not discrimination? I bought the album in the correct timeframe, the same as many others did, yet I wasn’t entitled to buy my tickets with a much higher chance of success. Doesn’t seem right to me
I emailed the venue, explained the situation, and asked if they could assist. They confirmed accessible tickets are not available on an artist pre-sale; however, they had a pre-sale of their own on Thursday, 31st October. Like the album pre-order, you had to register your interest with your email address on the Wolverhampton Halls website by 3pm on Wednesday, which I did.
I received the email link Thursday morning, and bingo - wheelchair tickets are available! I booked and paid for them in a few minutes, and the tickets will be added to my AXS app nearer the event date.
The actual booking process with AXS is simple, but the pre-sale caused me more drama than it needed to.
Wheelchair booking on the AXS system is straightforward; however, the process is different if you want to make a booking as an ambulant customer.
The venue will provide a companion ticket to anyone who needs one. Details of the venue’s seating are in the ‘Access Requirements’ section of the Halls’ website. This describes how to access each level of the venue and how many steps, if any, to each row of seating. When you’ve considered where you think is the best option for you, you need to book tickets for yourself and anyone who will be going to the event with you on the AXS booking portal. So, you must book two full-priced tickets if it’s just you and one companion. You need to book three full-priced tickets if it’s you and two friends. Then, as soon as you receive your booking reference number from AXS, you need to contact the venue and provide them with the booking reference. Your companion ticket will be refunded. Only one companion per access customer can be refunded, and they can only offer the refund for tickets purchased through AXS.
You are permitted to book in the standing area downstairs and are again entitled to a companion ticket. However, there is no seating downstairs, and although currently allowed, the allowance of mobility aids on the floor may be changed at any time, so it’s worth dropping them an email to check!
As with all bookings made with AXS, your tickets are uploaded to the AXS mobile phone app. The tickets have a dynamic barcode that refreshes every 60 seconds, so they cannot be screenshot or added to a mobile wallet.
LOCATION AND GETTING THERE
The Halls are within the ring road in the northern part of Wolverhampton, West Midlands. They’re very close to the city’s shopping area, with many bars and restaurants within a short distance.
The bus and train stations are within 16 and 11 minutes walk or roll away, respectively.
Wolverhampton is also served by the West Midlands Metro, which connects directly to the centre of Birmingham. Trams run every 10-12 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes and every 15 minutes during the evenings and on Sundays. The Metro network has 5 ‘Park & Ride’ sites with free parking - you just pay for your tram ticket! Off-peak day tickets can be purchased for £5.40 per person on the tram. All West Midlands Metro trams have low floors and two dedicated wheelchair spaces on each vehicle. Each station is fully accessible and has multiple access facilities.
You must apply for a permit to board the tram with a mobility scooter.
The nearest tram stop to The Halls is Wolverhampton St George, 8 minutes away.
The venue doesn’t have dedicated car parking. The Civic Centre car park opposite the venue is open until Midnight on event nights. Being a council-run car park, there are no concessions for blue badge parking.
A link on the venue’s website takes you to Wolverhampton City Council’s page with information about Blue Badge parking in the city, including a very clear map. Some dedicated blue badge parking spaces in the city have time limitations.
We parked on Cheapside, opposite the venue, next to the Civic Centre car park. The road has 17 accessible bays. The bays are limited to blue badge holders from 6.00am - 6.30pm, with a maximum stay of 3 hours and no return within one hour. We arrived early so we could find something to eat.
GETTING IN
North Street slopes down slightly to the right, but the front of the building is accessible and covered in paving. The main foyer has seven double doors, each with a small step.
As you approach the front of the venue on North Street, you’ll see multiple queues. The well-organised staff have metal barriers to sort the queue and ensure everyone knows where they need to be.
Looking at the front of the building, the general admission standing queue is on the right-hand side, snaking down onto Mitre Fold.
The accessible queue was at the front left-hand corner, along the edge of Corporation Street, with a handful of people who had paid an additional charge for priority entry.
On North Street, on the opposite side of Corporation Street, there was a third queue for customers with tickets in either the circle or the balcony. The kerb along the edge of Corporation Street is level with both the road and the footpath.
As the general standing admission queue moved forward, there were security scanners to walk through before heading to the main doors. The accessible queue had a large table to conduct bag checks and electronic security wands, but not many people seemed to get checked, including us!
When the security staff got the OK to open the doors and let people in, the emergency exit on the leftmost end of the front of the building was opened. The accessible queue was directed to enter through here.
FACILITIES
Staff members were inside the door with handheld ticket scanners to scan the QR ticket code on the AXS app and let us into the building. We were directed through a door immediately to our right, into a small corner of the main foyer area, cordoned off with rope barriers. We could see a merch desk in the foyer, but we were directed to the right and into the lift. We asked if we could get to the merch desk, but we were told there is another one upstairs.
The lift was only big enough for one wheelchair at a time, so we had to queue briefly. Inside the lift, the buttons were marked, and with two options - 0 for the foyer and stalls or 2 for the Circle - you couldn't go wrong.
As we exited the lift and wheeled towards a staff member waiting to greet us, I saw another lift with a glass door in front of me. This lift is for access customers to access the accessible seating options on the balcony.
From here, we turned right and wheeled along to the merch desk. We were effectively on a balcony above the main foyer, which was bright and airy with floor-to-ceiling windows above each set of doors. As we moved along, we passed two sets of 3 sets with handrails leading up to the rows of seating across the back of the circle.
The merch desk was a large table covered in a black cloth, that I could wheel up to easily. Behind it, all of the available items for sale were displayed on the wall. The card machines were easy to reach, and the queues were much shorter than downstairs.
We wheeled back towards the two lifts where we’d come in, but this time we went straight ahead, through a set of large, propped open doors, then turned right again. There was another set of the same doors into the auditorium, taking us into the circle at the back of the room. Only one door was propped open this time, so it was a tight squeeze - I just got through without having to touch the second door, but the member of staff showing us to our seats just carried on into the auditorium without offering any help with the door.
The ladies’ toilets were immediately to our left, with the gents and the accessible toilet at the opposite end of the pathway, classed as the ‘Circle Standing’ area, at the stage end. Halfway along, on the left-hand side, was a set of double doors, opening outwards but propped open before the show and during the interval, which led into a bar area. The bar has limited seating options and also a limited drink and snack selection. A portion of the counter is lowered, but it’s a convenient shelf for the bar till and Monster energy drink fridge!
The accessible toilet is relatively small. It has the usual access features such as grab rails. The sink has an automatic tap and a lever-controlled soap dispenser. There was no general waste bin, just a sanitary bin. The red cord hangs freely but doesn’t quite reach the floor, and is in an awkward place down the side of the toilet. And why on earth is there no toilet roll holder? The toilet roll is on the top of the drop-down grab rail beside the toilet and will end up on the floor as soon as the rail is lowered.
SEATING
According to The Halls seating plan, there are six wheelchair spaces on the Circle level and two on the balcony.
Our seats were Circle Row E, seat 95a, a wheelchair space and seat 95, a companion seat. We were in the middle bay, directly in front of the door to the bar.
Along the side of the pathway, there were 3 roped-off accessible bays between upright pillars, each with 3 fixed seats and a sticker on the floor indicating it was an accessible spot and the seat number. A waist-high wall divided the bays from the rows of seats in front, and there was a wooden shelf on the top for us to put drinks. The fixed seating did not have a lot of legroom, and for me to see past anyone in the seats, I had to wheel as far forward as I could to maintain a clear view.
Also, between the pillars are three sets of steps leading down to rows A-D of the circle, and although stepped, the seats are not much lower than those in the accessible bay.
The pillars had large, clear notices reading “Please remain seated at all times during the show. This is to ensure the enjoyment of others around you who may not be able to stand”. That makes sense in an accessible area. I noted on the venue’s website that if you have purchased a seat in the Circle or Balcony, you must remain seated at all times, so no one should stand up in the rows in front of us.
Now, I say the accessible bays were roped off - there was a rope behind the seats, but we weren’t enclosed. We seemed to have a good view of the stage and made ourselves comfortable.
As the venue started to fill up, we realised that these ‘accessible bays’ are, in fact, just part of a general admission area. Some tickets are sold as ‘Circle Standing,’ which means the ticket holders can stand anywhere on the flat floor area down each side of the circle. The seats on rows A-D down the two sides and A-G across the back of the circle have ticket numbers.
Many people with the standing tickets made a beeline for the gap between the far end of the fixed seating and the next pillar, for a clear view. After a short time, a staff member brought another access customer in a wheelchair to put into that space. There was no way she would see around the pillar from her chair. The couple asked to speak to a staff member and were soon moved up onto the balcony. I don’t know how the conversation went or if there was any reasoning, but I did note that:
There was no sticker on the floor indicating it was a wheelchair space
It is not marked on the seating plan as a wheelchair space
The third fixed seat in the row (the frontmost) is marked as having a potential restricted view, so surely between that seat and the next pillar would be a no-go?
Once the couple was moved, people stood in that corner again. Two men were sitting in seats 96 and 97 and had to sit quite far forward on their seats to maintain their view.
I think a lot comes down to common sense and decency. If you are standing, look around to see if you’re blocking anyone’s view.
I found it challenging to get in and out to the toilet through the crowd behind us. When it’s loud and dark, it isn’t easy to communicate. I also found that when we both went to the bar or the toilet, despite the floor being marked as the wheelchair space and the seat having a clear number, people were standing in our places when we returned. Once they see the wheelchair, they realise they shouldn’t be there, but nothing physically prevents them from getting there.
Having people standing so close behind you might be an issue for some people and trigger anxiety. It did feel crowded, but in the defence of the standing ticket holders, they needed to stand as far forward as possible to get a clear view of the stage. The row of people behind me was sometimes 3 or 4 deep.
The seating in front of us, Rows A-D, was a different kettle of fish altogether!
Row D was only one small step lower than us, so we could see their heads above the shelf in front of us. Arms, hands, drinks, or phones in the air sometimes interfered with our view, but nothing major.
At various points on the show, a couple of people stood up during what was maybe their favourite song. Staff were quick to request that they sit down, which they did.
Towards the end of the show, two, shall we say, more ‘mature’ ladies decided to stand up, waving their arms in the air. Staff were nowhere to be seen. An audience member standing behind us throughout the show attracted the ladies’ attention and asked them to sit down. They wouldn’t. She asked again. They still wouldn’t. It was only a few minutes from the end, so it was not a significant issue to me, but when there are clear signs asking you to remain seated, it’s a bit unfair.
As the auditorium emptied, the lady behind us confronted the two standing and pointed out their rudeness. She reiterated the message on the signs and pointed out that I was a wheelchair user. There were exchanges of words between them, some quite aggressive, before they left the venue. I didn’t get involved, but I quite enjoyed watching the single lady arguing on my behalf! (I don’t encourage this, but having someone stand up for you is nice.)
Talking to people after the show who visit regularly, they said that depending on who’s playing and what kind of crowd is in, they’ll all stand up regardless, and the staff are powerless to do anything about it. Luckily, this didn’t happen to us, but I would have had zero chance of seeing anything if everyone in front stood up.
GETTING BACK OUT
The venue emptied fairly quickly. We waited a few minutes before we moved. I wanted to use the toilet, so I’d be moving against the tide of people leaving the circle.
With the single small lift back down to the ground floor, there was a short queue, but we didn’t wait long.
We left the building by the door we came in and were back in the car in no time, heading back to the hotel.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
Overall, the venue is great. The security staff outside are very organised, and it’s quite clear where you need to queue. It’s also very easy to get into the building.
The staff inside the building work for the venue rather than being hired security staff, so I felt they were knowledgeable, knew what they were doing and had a strong routine.
The situation with the accessible areas and the general standing tickets was odd. You don’t have any protection, your view is not guaranteed, and it’s very difficult to move around, which could trigger anxiety.
At no point did any of the staff check on us. Once they’d seen us to our seats when we first entered the building, that was it. There was no dedicated member of access staff to contact if you had any issues.
I would go again. It was a good venue with good sound quality. They get some very high-profile acts and shows, but I’d seriously consider who or what the show was.
