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Manchester United - Fan's Comments

Date: 29/05/2010

By: scott

Match: last season

I have been to both manchester united game an away fan and england game and the facilities and parking have both times been good.

Disabled Vehicles

Date: 26/10/2009

By: Carole Billouin

Match: vs Blackburn Rovers

I have been to Old Trafford several times with my disabled husband and found the situation as with other fans' comments. However for the match coming up on Saturday I wanted to also bring (for a birthday treat for one of them) my two teenage granddaughters who have special needs, one of whom cannot walk too well but generally does not use a wheelchair. I had hoped to obtain seats with the ambulant disabled and let one sit with my husband next to his wheelchair and sit with the other myself. Unfortunately I had mistakely assumed that it would not be difficult to get these seats, and sadly I have had to disappoint my girls. So if you are ambulant disabled be warned you have little chance of getting a seat.
As for being with the home fans - we are used to this as it happens at many stadiums, but it would be nice to be able to be accommodated with our own fans and to go in the concourse with them.

Date: 07/12/2008

By: Ross Hovey

Match: Several England Games & Away as Arsenal Fan

I have been to Old Trafford several times as an England Fan and following Arsenal as an away fan in a FA Cup match during the 2007/2008 season.

Positives
Good Parking nearby
Level Access
Plenty of Accessible Toilets

Negatives
Away fans sit with home fans and during intense game this is very intimidating
Accessible Lounge - My worst nightmare of a day out. Disabled people don't want to be provided a unique space for us to be hidden away in. Would prefer a setup like the Emirates where I can access the same refreshment facilities as others. Accessibility Lounge is also cramped with too many wheelchairs and is again mixed home and away fans. I wonder when MUFC will open an area for other minorities to be cooped up in?
Lots of toilets, but very small, dirty and with severe lack of hot water!
Car Park - Holds you in for one hour after match leaving you to get stuck in traffic.
One entrance for disabled.
One section for disabled, unlike Wembley or Emirates where disabled people are dispersed amongst other fans for a more "real" and "equal" experience.

Date: 24/11/2008

By: Matthew Law

Match: Manchester United v QPR Old Trafford 11.11.08

As I had a free day on this Tuesday I decided to accompany my friend and PA (Paul) to his teams match in Manchester in the League Cup.

We left from my home in Lightwater, Surrey at 2.30 in the afternoon and drove via the motorways to Manchester in about 4 hours. We used the M6 Toll road which got us through the notorious motorway clog-up north of Birmingham. This Toll Road [as with many bridges, congestion zones and other roads] can be accessed free of charge if you receive the higher rate of DLA, as I do. However, a 3 year pass costs £15 and so if you are unlikely to use it more than once a year then applying for an exemption is not cost effective. We duly paid our £4.60 by credit card (no frantic searching for cash – very convenient).

Paul arranged the visit through QPR and was sent a letter from the Manchester United Disabled Supporters Association stating that Man Utd had recently introduced a ‘card entry’ system for wheelchair users. He had to give my name and Vehicle Registration Number (VRN) to QPR who in turn passed that information on to Manchester United but no tickets were necessary. 24 disabled places were allocated to QPR fans. This included a personal assistant (PA) for each disabled person. Of this allocation of 24, 18 were for wheelchair users, 3 for visually impaired (these 21 all free and for pa too) and an additional 3 for ambulatory disabled (at a reduced price with pa free).

So we traveled to the match without a ticket (something that never sits comfortably with me). On approaching the stadium complex the car-park attendants pointed us towards the disabled car-parking zone and even when inside the complex, no-one checked the VRN against any list. However, I guess the blue disabled parking badge and the power wheelchair in the back of the car was evidence enough that I did indeed have a disability.

Once inside the stadium complex we made our way round the other side of the stadium (Is it just me that always manages to be at the wrong side of the ground?) and to the clearly marked disabled entrance (B3 in the South-East corner)

We gave our names to the stewards on the entrance to the stadium and they assured us when we asked that food was available inside. We were keen to get out of the cold wind and rain and hungry for a burger. We made our way along the corridor to a large concourse area in the stadium. This had several disabled toilets adjoining it and the entrance to the ‘ability suite’ as well as a through door to another part of the stadium and a medical room.

I used one of the toilets which was rather small to maneuver my power-chair in but had all the rails in the right place. We then went into the ‘ability suite’ to buy some food. The ‘ability suite’ is a large room with a refreshment bar and tables. It is exclusively for the use of disabled people and their PA’s. However the Ability Suite did not have the food I wanted. They had pies but no burgers.

We asked the head steward if we were allowed out to buy a burger and he replied ‘of course’. So we went out into the wind and rain again and bought a burger each. When we tried to get in the stadium again we were stopped by the gate steward ‘I cant let you back in I’m afraid’ he said. This steward only backed down when a more senior steward used his common sense and allowed us through.

Through the concourse there were two ramps which in turn lead to two large viewing platforms at two different levels. I was quite pleased as we were allocated a space on the higher platform accessed by the right hand ramp. The view was very good with great sightlines to the pitch. At half time we were allowed to go back to the concourse area where we could gain some much needed shelter from the weather.

The exit from our space after the game was simple and queue free and we were back to our car and out the car-park in 20 minutes. There was a slight queue on the roads immediately outside the stadium but this was nothing compared to the hold-up as soon as we joined the M6 at Junction 19. We queued nose to tail for 90 minutes covering no more than 4 miles; and all because someone, somewhere had made the decision to paint a bridge across the motorway occupying 2 of the 3 lanes. This caused one of the biggest bottlenecks I have ever seen and the frustration was multiplied as all drivers knew full well they had a 3 hour drive once through it to get back to London. We eventually arrived home at 4 am.

In conclusion the facilities at Man Utd for the disabled are very good. However, there are two things worth pointing out. Firstly: the disabled supporters of both clubs are all at the same end of the ground. Luckily in this case, the away fans were at this same end but if the ground is used as a neutral venue (Liverpool v Chelsea FA Cup semi-final 2006) and your own supporters are allocated the other end it does make for a very uncomfortable time being right amongst the opposing fans. Secondly, and maybe it’s related: because all the disabled are together you don’t have the opportunity to mix with non-disabled people. Disabled people are thus being denied the opportunity to integrate. This is a problem society is beginning to sort out in this country but disappointingly Man Utd are not following the social model of disability.

Date: 20/07/2008

By: Gary Deards

Match: 2007/08 season

The club provide nearby car parking for disabled supporters.

The disabled supporter seating (wheelchair) is in 1 corner of the ground on 3 levels. Both home and away fans sit in the same section (in front of the able-bodied away fans). The views on levels 2 and 3 offer good views with carers adjacent but as can be seen from the picture, level 1 has some sightline issues which the club acknowledged by installing some TV screens (these work if tuned to the correct channel. There is also a net protecting fans behind the goal from stray shots that slightly gets in the way of the near touch line view.

Additional upper quadrant positions have been added in the last year.

The club has an "Ability Suite" where disabled supporters can meet/eat/drink before and after game and there are plenty of accessible toilets.

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