SINCE OUR VISIT, THE TITLE SPONSORSHIP OF THE STADIUM HAS MOVED FROM JOHN SMITH’S TO ACCU
We’d been to this stadium a few years back, and I wasn’t using a wheelchair then; the experience was BAD! My complaint felt like it was brushed aside at the time. Visiting again, will they have implemented changes to improve the experience, or should I have given booking tickets a miss? Read on and find out!
BOOKING
Accessible bookings for concerts at the John Smith’s Stadium need to be made directly with the Huddersfield Town AFC ticket office. As they deal with all of their matchday bookings, they know the best options for wheelchair users and ambulant customers, so they can offer you seating to best suit your needs.
General admission tickets are available to purchase online at Ticketmaster, See Tickets and Gigs & Tours. Still, the sites will advise you that you need to contact the club for accessible tickets.
When the tickets went on sale in October, I called the ticket office and didn’t have to wait long to speak to a member of the sales staff. I requested a wheelchair space and a companion seat and was offered some different options. They offered me seating in the front row of the Kilner Bank and Riverside stands, which are at pitch level with no elevation or a pitch wheelchair platform. Thinking this option would give a better view by being raised, I went for this option.
I received an email confirmation of my order shortly after showing I’d booked seats 3 and 4 in area DPSS1.
About a week later, I received a second email, asking me to provide proof of disability and informing me that parking would go on sale at a later date and tickets would be sent by post 3-4 weeks before the event.
I got a telephone call on the 18th of March offering me accessible parking. I asked if the parking was in the Bradley Mills / Town Avenue car park, where I parked last time. The lady said that the parking option wasn’t available, but there was an alternative option closer to the entrance I’d be using. The cost was £20 (it’s only a fiver on a matchday!!!), but since I didn’t know the area, it seemed like the best option, so I booked it.
There is an additional accessible parking option on matchdays, the St. Andrew’s Road Upper car park, but this is unavailable for music events as the park is used as a catering village.
About a month before the event, I received an envelope through the post containing my tickets, a car parking pass and a map of the stadium area. The map clearly showed Gate A, the accessible entrance we needed to use, and indicated the location of the car park.
There was an additional stadium area map on the back of the tickets. This map also showed the location of the access to the access platform between the Cowshed and Kilner Bank stands.
The tickets had a sticker over something that had been initially printed on them and had been handwritten over with PLATFORM 2.
Looking online, the football club have an access guide with all of the information for matchdays. Admittedly, things will vary when it’s not a sports event, but the club seem very clued up on accessibility, so fingers crossed our visit will be better than before.
LOCATION AND GETTING THERE
The back of our tickets included basic directions to the stadium and its postcode. As with most large events, there would be road closures in place around the stadium to be aware of.
Huddersfield doesn’t have any main road links into the town; there are lots of single-carriageway roads and built-up areas. The nearest major roads are the M62 and M1.
The stadium is away from the main town centre.
Huddersfield railway station hosts services from TransPennine Express and Northern trains reaching coast-to-coast destinations including Liverpool, Redcar, Scarborough and Newcastle.
Bus services 202, 203 and 229 from Leeds to Huddersfield stop close to the stadium, and several bus services stop at Huddersfield bus station, a 20-minute walk or roll away from the stadium. Many buses in the local area are fully accessible, but please check your route online beforehand.
As we drove towards the stadium, we saw no signage for the Gasworks car park. We had our SatNav set for the Gasworks car park, and the route avoided passing the stadium, where there were road closures. However, we didn’t find a sign for the parking until a board with an arrow pointing into the car park on the pavement opposite the car park entrance. The car park is rough ground shared with a coach park. With an accessible parking pass, we were able to park closer to the entrance on some hardstanding. The car park staff then asked which parts of the car we needed access to, allowing plenty of space between the parked cars.
It was made clear to us that we would be held in the car park after the event until the coaches had all left and the roads had been opened. We were advised it might take up to 90 minutes before we were free to leave.
GETTING IN
From the Gasworks car park, we had about a 10-minute, half-mile walk to the stadium entrance, Gate A.
From the car park entrance, we headed north along the B6432 St Andrew’s Road to the pedestrian crossing at the junction of Gasworks Street and Stadium Way. We crossed the road and headed onto Stadium Way, and found street sellers had narrowed down the path.
Stadium Way was closed, so it was easier to wheel along the road, but there were very few dropped kerbs to get down.
We passed under the big signage reading ‘Nearly There’ as we entered what would typically be a matchday car parking area.
We kept to the left and continued to follow Stadium Way. To our right, the land rises with a road leading to a large car park, the St. Andrew’s Road Upper matchday car park. For music events, this car park becomes the catering village with a selection of food vans and bars.
A fence around the edge of the area indicated that this was Gate A. Although we needed Gate A, this was the general admission entrance, and the accessible Gate A is further around the road.
Close to Gate A, there were some portaloos, but none were accessible that we saw.
As you keep following Stadium Way, the road starts to curve to the right and slope downwards.
Just before the road starts to drop, there is a large merchandise outlet on the left. All of the available merch was pinned up on the walls, and the front of the area was surrounded by metal railings covered with tarpaulins.
Partway between the road starting to drop and levelling out at the bottom was accessible Gate A. The entrance was closed, covered with metal fencing, but had signage on stating ‘Cowshed South Stand and Kilner Bank South Stand Accessible Entrance’. Through the fence, we could see a pathway leading uphill towards the stadium entrance.
If you follow Stadium Way downwards, you’ll come down to the main entrance to the stadium on your right, including the main reception, hospitality entrance, stadium megastore and the ticket office. There is also another merchandise outlet and portaloos, plus a mobile accessible toilet and Changing Places facility.
Over to your left is the white footbridge that leads over to the Bradley Mills / Town Avenue car park.
If your accessible access point is Kilner Bank North, you need to continue to follow around the perimeter of the stadium, as there is no access behind the Kilner Bank stand. I assumed that if your seating was in the Kilner Bank North, your access parking would have been allocated in the Bradley Mills / Town Avenue car park. No, it wasn’t! A friend of mine was parked a few cars away from me in the Gasworks car park and had to enter via the Kilner Bank North accessible entrance at the opposite end of the stadium. It won’t be a problem on the way there as it’s downhill, but making your way back through the crowds and uphill back to your car at the end of the show will likely be tricky!
We queued at our accessible gate, and when it was time for the gates to open, two staff members moved the fencing and beckoned us forward.
We had our tickets digitally scanned, but there were no bag or security checks, nor did they direct us where to go, so we just headed up the path towards the stadium.
At the top of the path were the usual matchday turnstiles. A large gate on the left-hand side said ‘Accessible Entrance South Stand’, but the gate was closed. Around to our right was a member of staff waving wheelchair users through a barrier, which was signposted as ‘Kilner Bank Accessible Platform’. The arrow pointed to the corner of the stadium marked on the back of the tickets and the accessible platform entrance, so we followed the other wheelchair users.
At this point, to our left was the turnstile block leading to the back of the Cowshed Stand and to our right were stairs leading up to the catering village.
We followed the back of the stand, then passed through a large metal gate, and turned left to head towards the Kilner Bank stand. We passed to the open corner of the stadium where pitch-standing ticketholders could exit the pitch up to the toilets and catering village. We kept following the narrow path until we reached the end of the Kilner Bank stand. We entered the stand through some large emergency exit doors, past two accessible toilets and into a corner of the stand. There was no accessible platform on the pitch anywhere. Was this where we were supposed to be sitting?
Blue railings surrounded this small area so that we couldn’t get anywhere else. There was no indication of wheelchair bay numbers, but it appeared the wheelchair would wheel up to the railing, and the companion would be sitting in the seat in front of them, down two steps!
A member of staff was checking our tickets to help us find our seats, but he seemed unable to determine where anyone was supposed to be sitting.
After a good few minutes and being none the wiser as to where we were supposed to be, we headed back towards the back of the Cowshed Stand in the hope we could find a member of staff who could help.
We went back to the lady who’d waved us through earlier and explained we couldn’t find our seat. Could she please help? She took us through, between the turnstiles to the back of the Cowshed Stand and led us through, past the bars, to find some help. She spoke to a member of the security staff, who said she thought we were over to the left. No luck. Couldn’t find any information about an access platform. She then led us off to the right to the end of the Cowshed Stand. At the farthest end was a small sign saying ‘Platform 2’. Nothing else. No wheelchair logo and still no sign of the access platform we were looking for on the pitch.
Now, after about 15 minutes of wandering around trying to find our seats, we were told this was, in fact, where we were supposed to be. In the back of the stand. Not on the pitch. Not on a ‘platform’. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. This is the stand we were in the last time we were here, and the facilities and experience were terrible. I wasn’t happy, but it looked like we were stuck here now. The thing that most annoyed me about this seating was that I was not sat with my wife - I’ll get on to that bit shortly!
FACILITIES
The stadium facilities are inadequate.
In the area behind the Cowshed Stand, the matchday food and drink bars and the toilets are located. This area got extremely busy, so even the short trip to the toilet was a struggle at times. On a matchday, the area is split into two, with the opposite side to where we were being the ‘away end’. Each half of the outside area has two bars, one female toilet block, one male toilet block and one accessible toilet. Having the central divide open meant that, in all, there were two accessible toilets available to us. The toilets have radar key access and the basic grab rails required, plus a drop-down baby change table.
The section we were in had four wheelchair spaces, and I’m not sure how many were at the opposite side. There were a few rows of the stand with a minimal number of seats, which could have been for ambulant disabled customers. Logic says there shouldn’t be long queues for the accessible toilet. No. Despite numerous staff in the area, the doors were not locked after use and were therefore open for anyone to use. Not long into the show, one of the toilets was blocked. Completely. Level with water. I reported it three times to three different members of staff, and it still wasn’t fixed by the end of the show.
The offerings from the stadium bars were minimal. None of the bars had lowered counters, and some of the queues were regulated using barriers, which made getting to them in a wheelchair challenging.
Despite being assured that food allergies and intolerances would be catered for, the only gluten-free option we found was Haribo Starmix! As we had enquired beforehand, we had been told you were allowed to take in a small amount of food for medical reasons, to be accompanied by a doctor’s letter stating the reasons why. We went prepared, but since we didn’t get our bags checked, we were okay for the day.
There was a step-free route up to the catering village. Being on the upper car park, getting there from the Cowshed Stand turnstiles involved a lot of steps or a zigzag ramped path. There was no way I could get up there on my own, and it would be challenging for anyone ambulant to tackle the stairs or the ramp, so we gave it a miss.
There was no merch inside the stadium, so luckily I’d bought my t-shirt outside before the gates opened! Priorities!
Other than that, there were no ‘facilities’.
There were no dedicated access staff, and no one told us where the toilets were or how to get to the catering village. It felt that once we’d been scanned in, we were just left to get on with it.
SEATING
So, despite booking a pitch platform, I found myself in the back corner of the Cowshed Stand. Certainly not what I’d expected. As I said earlier, I’ve been in that stand for a music event before, and the experience was bad, so I didn’t want to be in there again.
The back wall of the Cowshed Stand curves slightly, so the edges of the stand have fewer rows of seating. The middle section of the stand has seating against the back wall, which is up a few steps. The two back corners are triangular, wider where you enter from the top of the stairway, narrowing towards the outer wall.
These triangular sections are step-free with a low blue metal railing running across the front and around to the side. There is a small piece of the railing up towards the wall, which I can only assume has acted as a gatepost in the past. The gap is wide enough to be a gateway, but there is no gate.
This platform is designated for four wheelchair users. Even though we had ticket numbers, there were no marked bays, numbering on the fence or numbering on the companion seats.
I wheeled in and wheeled the front of my chair up to the railing. The railing was not much higher than my knees in a seated position. The area was more than wide enough for four chairs, regardless of their size. I was positioned next to the staircase, at the widest part, but larger chairs would struggle at the narrower end.
The row of seating in front of the platform is down two small steps. With people in those seats sitting down, I could see over them OK. Standing was a different matter. Before the show started, my wife, who is 5’5” tall, stood in the row in front of me and blocked my view - fingers crossed, I got no one tall!
So, I’m sitting in my space, next to the stairs, with three other wheelchairs alongside me. But where are our companions, you might ask. Behind us. Yes, behind us. Bear in mind what I said about the shape of the area. At the far end, the companion was sitting comfortably behind the wheelchair. At the end, next to the stairs, my companion’s fold-down plastic seat was up against the wall, a good couple of meters behind me. Being on the level, she couldn’t see over me. She couldn’t move her seat. She ended up standing for most of the show to get a view of the stage. Standing there also served a good purpose as a makeshift gate for the gateway I spoke about. At numerous times during the evening, random people walked into the area and just hung around, admiring the view. Some even leaned over me to take photos. Actively filling the gap seemed the only way to stop it.
At some point during the support act, an empty wheelchair was randomly dumped behind me, next to my wife’s seat. Don’t know whose it was or where they went, but it stayed there for the whole show!
Two security staff members were stationed at the top of the stairs throughout the evening, assisting with seat numbers and taking photos of couples or groups looking down over the pitch.
Early on in the evening, they were keeping people moving on the stairs, but once the show was in full swing, they just took a step back. At one point, one even sat on the railing beside me, watching the show! At times, some people seemed to give up on finding their seats and just hung around at the top of the stairs.
There was a constant stream of people on the stairs all evening. For people in the pitch-standing area, they could leave at the back corner of the pitch, up to the concourse area behind us and the catering village for food, drinks and toilets, but they had to re-enter the stadium down the stairs through the Cowshed Stand. At times, it was jam-packed with people, spilling drinks, blocking the view and causing a general nuisance.
And that was before people in front of us decided to stand up. Credit where due, a couple asked if we could see past them, which we could, but others didn’t seem bothered, nor did the staff!
Admittedly, we were in a good spot, depending on the good old British weather. We were undercover, protected from the rain or sun.
Apart from people standing in front of us and people moving on the stairs, we had a good view of the stage throughout. We had a full view of the video screens, and with the stage being high, we weren’t obstructed by any of the pitch-standing ticketholders.
As I mentioned earlier, I was offered pitchside seating when I booked, but I prefer an elevated position. The elevated access platform on the pitch that I was told I’d booked would have been perfect, but hey ho.
A friend of mine (who I didn’t know was going to the event until I bumped into him and his sister in the car park!) had tickets for the front row of the Kilner Bank Stand. Although sold as wheelchair spaces, it is not a dedicated wheelchair area. It is the standard front row of the stadium seating. Your allocated seat is a fold-down plastic seat that you just reverse your wheelchair up to. Bear in mind, most stadium seats are narrow, and it is doubtful you can get a standard wheelchair in between two fold-down seats, let alone a large wheelchair.
For most of the event, my friend was surrounded by standing people and unable to see the stage. Again, no intervention from staff. It was not an enjoyable experience for him at all!
GETTING BACK OUT
As the show finished, the stadium floodlights were switched on to make it much safer and easier to get around and find your way out. As we knew we wouldn’t be getting let out of the car park very quickly, we thought there was absolutely no point in heading for the exit in a hurry. With multiple exits from the pitch, it didn’t take long for the standing crowd to disperse. Some headed up the stairs through the Cowshed Stand, adding to the seated ticket holders in the stand as they exited; there was a bit of a bottleneck in the outside area.
The queues for the toilets were long, causing an obstruction, so we just sat tight and waited. Within less than ten minutes, security staff were starting to encourage people to the exits. We headed to the outside area to use the toilets, and by the time my wife had queued and finished, female security staff were in the toilets herding people out, telling everyone the staff wanted to get locked up and go home!
We exited the stadium the same way we came in - along the line of turnstiles and down the slope to join Stadium Way. Streetlights lit Stadium Way, so it was easy enough to get around, and there weren’t a lot of people around; it had quietened down quite quickly.
When we took a right-hand turn to go back under the signage reading ‘nearly home’ on the way out, it started to get busy. There was quite a crowd of people heading back out to the main road. The main roads were still closed, though.
At the traffic-lit junction of St Andrew’s Road, Gasworks Street and Stadium Way, the crowd started spreading in different directions, so it was a lot quieter as we turned left back towards the car park. What didn’t help was that one of the traffic management vehicles had parked on the crossing, blocking the dropped kerb, so I needed a hand to bump up onto the footpath.
In the Gasworks car park, many people were heading to the top of the car park, where numerous coaches were parked with their lights on. Many people had already returned to their cars, started their engines, and were beginning to itch towards the exit. By the time we’d got everything packed into the car, set the SatNav for home and got comfortable, some of the buses were being guided out and the traffic waved forwards. We worked it out that within 90 minutes of the Stereophinics leaving the stage, we were starting to pull out of the car park.
Yellow signage indicated that B6432 St Andrew’s Road was still closed northbound towards the stadium. We all followed out to the right, and the SatNav soon redirected us to find the best route back to the M62 and home.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
I hoped that going back a couple of years after making my complaint and reading the online access guide, it would be a much better experience this time. It wasn’t.
There are not enough toilet facilities, and there is no protection for them.
Lack of food and drink options close by.
Lack of signage and help to find our seats. The details on our tickets were not displayed anywhere, even on the seats themselves, to give us any idea where we were going.
Not keeping the staircase clear was annoying. When people were moving, it was fine, but those congregating near the top made it difficult to get out for the toilet.
There is no access staff to help out during the event, and no designated individual to report issues to.
The view of access customers isn’t protected. Lack of staff means no one to keep the access areas clear, but lack of common sense by other concertgoers doesn’t help.
Charging 4x the cost of regular matchday parking for accessible customers is a bit steep. I can appreciate that they need to charge, but increasing the price from £5 to £20 seems excessive.
Unless it’s a big gig nowhere else in the North, I won’t be booking tickets there again. Sorry Huddersfield!
