Rotherham United are proud to be introducing our brand new Accessibility Passports which have been launched in an attempt to further enhance the matchday experience for disabled supporters at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
As a club, we remain committed to making matchdays enjoyable for everyone and are incredibly proud of the facilities that we are able to offer those attending first team fixtures. Beyond that, we have been grateful to the Rotherham United Disabled Supporters’ Association, who have provided us with insightful feedback which has allowed us continue to make further strides to improve.
It is important for us all to recognise that not every disability is visible and that some supporters may be impaired by a condition that doesn’t physically present itself in public. It is our role as the cornerstone of the local community to try and raise awareness that invisible disabilities exist and we, as a society, should do everything that we can to ensure equality not just for our supporters, but people everywhere.
In an attempt to continue our work on that front, the club will be introducing Accessibility Passports with immediate effect which will be recognised by not only our club staff, but also our matchday stewards.
Rotherham United’s Head of Supporter Services John Bird was delighted to see the club taking action following a number of positive meetings with RUDSA and take what he believes to be another step in the right direction as the club looks to enhance the matchday experience.
“The introduction of our new Accessibility Passports is something that we are really excited about,” he told www.themillers.co.uk.
“By introducing these passes and providing our club staff and matchday stewards with education around them, it should mean that we are able to prevent instances in which a supporter with an invisible disability isn’t able to access the facilities that they need."
“Whilst this has never been a problem for us here at Rotherham United, we want to ensure that there is no grey area and in bringing in Accessibility Passports, it will be a simple process of showing one to the relevant staff member or steward, in turn, negating the risk of being denied use of any particular facility.
“I would like to thank the committee and group members of RUDSA, who are constantly helping us as a club to grow our own understanding of how we can maximise accessibility in and around AESSEAL New York Stadium – where we are already incredibly proud of our facilities for all of our supporters.
“It’s about making services easier to use for all people with disabilities, including people who are blind, deaf or have a learning or non-visible disability for example.”
Kerry Coleman, Chair of the RUDSA added:
“We are delighted that the club are introducing the Accessibility Passports after feedback from the group.
“We have worked for a number of months with the club to introduce these for all disabled supporters. We will continue to work with the club to introduce a number of other initiatives to help supporters to attend fixtures here at the AESSEAL New York Stadium”
To apply for a passport, please email dlo@rotherhamunited.net with the following details and an Accessibility Passport will be sent out to your mailing address.
Name:
Address:
Contact telephone number:
Supporter number (if known):
Emergency contact name and number:
A brief note of situations you find difficult:
Things which would help you:
Once we receive this information, we will review the request to see what adjustments can be made and will contact you if we require any further information.