INCLUSIVITY
Albion and its charity arm, Albion in the Community
(AITC), the room is slightly different to what a lot of
other English soccer clubs offer. “I have a lot of
dealings with other clubs and there has been a big
move on equality and inclusion at soccer stadia and
teams are keen to make them as inclusive as possible,”
says Gould. “We were keen to explore it and rather
than opening a sensory room, we wanted a safe space
where people with all kinds of issues mental or physical
can come to the room, where previously they might not
go to soccer matches. That was the main thinking
behind it.
“We’ve had, for example, people who have been
sectioned under the UK’s Mental Health Act come and
watch a game. We’ve also welcomed adults with their
carers to come and watch soccer; those people would
never be able to go to a stadium in normal
circumstances,” says Gould.
For many uses of sensory rooms, what happens
outside is a by-product of them being there. At the
Amex Stadium, that is very much not the case. Soccer
is very much the focus and there is a plan in place to
give users the opportunity to progress from the room
into seats in other parts of the stadium. “When we
talked about the design, we were conscious that we
wanted the room to be about soccer and retaining the
focus on the match playing out on the pitch,” says Paul
Brackley, disability manager, AITC.
“There are six dedicated seats inside and also six
outside, so the whole process is about giving people a
positive experience around attending and watching a
soccer match.
“We’ve got some sensory equipment in there, but
it’s all tactile and pitch-facing. We don’t have a sensory
room, per se, but there is an area with different seating
and where the lights can change,” he adds. “The biggest
success for me has been people who have returned to
watch other games in the stadium. We’ve actually had
people purchase season tickets off the back of their
experience in the inclusion room – seats that are
elsewhere in the stadium, with the other fans. The
design and the layout is very much about giving a calm,
sensory experience in the room, but also geared
towards watching the game.” Gould reveals that the
next project is to find another space at the Amex
Stadium that fans of visiting teams can use, further
adding to the appeal to watching a match on the
England’s south coast. n
Above: English Premier League
soccer side, Brighton and Hove
Albion, converted a catering
kiosk at Amex Stadium to build
a supportive environment that is
quiet yet is still very much part
of action with views of the field
NON-MATCHDAY FOCUS
For Brighton and Hove Albion, the inclusivity doesn’t stop on a
matchday. The club’s training ground welcomes those with
sensory needs (typically autism) every other Sunday, allowing
participants to play soccer on the main pitch within a low sensory
environment. The club has also arranged ‘Autism hours’ in the
retail store and the ticket office, providing a more comfortable
environment for everyone. “We are doing it the Brighton way, not
necessarily following what others do,” says Sarah Gould.
36 www.stadia-magazine.com March 2020
Pics: Andy Webb, Albion In the Community
/www.stadia-magazine.com