urrent statistics suggest that as many as
one in six people have sensory needs.
For those people – who might have
autism, Down syndrome, ADHD, early
onset dementia or any other kind of
sensory need – attending sports events and concerts
can be a struggle, sometimes impossible. But the
situation is improving for fans as sports teams are
turning awareness into action by supporting those
with invisible disabilities with new technologies and
amenities, including sensory rooms, which are
being integrated into stadia all over the world. As a
result, fans with mental and physical disabilities are
now being accommodated better than ever before.
One of the companies driving things forward is
non-profit Kulture City, which modifies an
environment with equipment such as sensory bags,
lights and headphones. The company also provides
specialist training for stadium staff who supervise
the users of the room. “Sensory rooms are not
mandatory in stadia and some of the venues don’t
have any space. So they will come to us – either
existing venues undergoing renovations or new sites
being built – to ask for help,” explains Uma
Srivastava, COO, at Kulture City.
The first sensory room Kulture City was
involved with was for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers
and since then, it has helped build rooms for other
NBA, NFL and MLB teams in the US, as well as
other spaces for teams in Australia and England.
Part of the growth in these facilities has been
because, while many teams put on a ‘sensoryfriendly’
INCLUSIVITY
game once a season, many want to attend
multiple games, which can prove difficult in such
an overwhelming environment and they end up
only attending part of a game.
Conversions and new-builds
Whether it’s a brand new stadium or a
refurbishment, facilities for those with sensory
needs can be accommodated relatively easily. While
it’s easier for Srivastava and her team to be involved
at the start of the project, they’re happy to work
with any situation. “We treat every venue the same,
regardless of size,” she says. “The requirements for
training and facilities are common across all the
venues we’ve worked on.”
Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, which
opened in November 2019, contacted Kulture City
when it was finalizing the floorplan, because they
saw the value in a sensory room. The Texas
Rangers’ new home, Globe Life Field will also have
a bespoke room to be used for those with sensory
needs. “In these new builds, we still have the same
lighting requirements, we make sure there are wall
dimmers, and ensure the carpet and wall colors are
compliant,” explains Srivastava. “The big advantage
of a new stadium is that we are able to some degree
to pick where the room will be. That scenario helps
because it means we can go to a quieter part of the
venue. When we are retrofitting an existing room
we have less control, which means we might have
to add in more materials for soundproofing and
sound masking.”
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