Overview

As a young Sheffield United fan I want to travel to away matches to back my team and Oldham Athletic seemed like a good idea. I am unfortunately confined to a wheelchair and away grounds can sometimes seem daunting experiences: where is the accessible parking, where are the seats, are they accessible, where are there disabled toilets etc.? Supporting your team is a great feeling (especially when you win) and with an understanding of the problems you might encounter, I want to share my experiences of football grounds with you so you can feel a bit more confident about stadium accessibility in the future.

Transport & Parking

Boundary park has disabled parking spaces outside the home stand and the club website says there are 40 blue badge parking spaces for home and away supporters that do not need to be pre-booked. However the car park is on slightly uneven ground for a the tail lift so we went to the B&Q a couple of minutes walk from the ground and they kindly let us park there for the duration of the match.

Access

For access to the away stand there is a disabled entrance from the George Hill Stand, which requires the attention of the stewards and there is a bit of a steep ramp, but the alternate entrance from the Zen Office Stand means a long walk from both the official car park and B&Q. The seating bays are very large and right at the front so your view of the game is not obstructed.

Toilets

The only positive about the toilets is that there is a disabled toilet. It is a nightmare to get to in the Zen Office Stand. It is at the other side of the concourse from where the disabled seats are and can only be accessed by moving through all other supporters. You have to push your way into the gender specific toilet meaning your carer must be the same gender. In the men’s toilet there is one tiny, dirty accessible toilet in the far corner, which is nearly impossible to get to and when I got there I found a drunken man asleep in the toilet. It was awful...

Staff

The stewards knew how to get us to our seats and took us through the entrance on George Hill Stand, however they did not inform us about the busy concourse, the disabled toilet or about our way out at the end of the game.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

The overall experience was disappointing; the game was a dull 1-1 draw, the single accessible toilet was terrible and most of the ground could do with some updating. I may well be writing to Oldham Athletic about my experience, although they can’t do much about the result!