Reprinted with permission
of The Virginian-Pilot
VIRGINIA BEACH
AMPHITHEATER EQUAL RIGHTS
A DENYING OF ACCESS
Protesters demand
amphitheater lawn be open to the disabled
BY SUSAN E. WHITE THE
VIRGINIAN-PILOT
10/21/05
VIRGINIA BEACH — Jennifer
Thornburg would love to sit under a blanket of stars and enjoy a concert at
Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater. But Thornburg, who has cerebral
palsy, can’t get her wheelchair up the 15 feet of stairs to the lawn seating.
On Thursday, she joined more than a dozen protesters on a
sidewalk at one of the amphitheater entrances, demanding that the arena’s lawn
be accessible to handicapped people.
The protesters gathered at Princess Anne and Dam Neck roads,
just hours before a concert featuring Def Leppard and Bryan Adams. Most carried
signs demanding equal access. “Warning: Discrimination in Progress,” declared
one.
“We belong on the lawn like everyone else,” said Thornburg, a
member of the Young Endependent Advocates, which has been lobbying for changes
at the amphitheater for three years. “This is an equal rights issue.”
City officials disagree.
Mark Warner, project manager for the Virginia Beach Development
Authority, said disabled people already have access to a variety of seating at
cheaper lawn ticket prices throughout the arena.
Lawn seating remains off-limits, he said, because it isn’t safe
for the handicapped. Allowing wheelchairs on the grassy hill, which seats
13,500 and slopes down from 60 feet, would be a liability, he said.
“What would you do with a wheelchair once you got it up there?”
Warner asked. “They would be stuck in a corner where they can’t move around. We
have an obligation to provide a safe environment for all customers of the
amphitheater.”
A host of changes were made to the theater eight years ago to
make it more accessible. They resulted from an agreement between the city and
Endependence Center Inc., a Norfolk-based advocacy group for the disabled.
In 1996, the center sued in federal court, alleging that the
amphitheater did not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Endependence Center said the $18.5 million concert arena violated federal
design regulations on seating, concessions, telephones, signs, parking,
walkways, ramps and toilet facilities.
In 1997, the city agreed to the requested design changes,
allowing disabled patrons fuller access to the concert venue.
That agreement did not address lawn seating, though it was a
major point of contention during the original complaint.
“It’s just been very frustrating because if we weren’t
physically dependent on anything, we could be on the lawn,” Thornburg said.
Stephen L. Johnson, executive director of Endependence Center,
said the center has suggested that a stair lift be installed to accommodate the
disabled.
One could be put in place for $60,000 or less, Johnson said.
“When you look at the profits of the amphitheater, $60,000
would be a drop in the bucket,” he said.
A railing also could be installed around a corner of the lawn
to address the safety issue, Johnson said.
A proposed change to the Americans with Disabilities Act
eventually could force the amphitheater to open its lawn seating to handicapped
people, he said.
In July 2004, the U.S. Access Board approved a provision that would
require lawn seating areas to be connected to an accessible route. The Justice
Department has not approved the provision.
When Kathryn Gage wants to attend an outdoor concert, she
usually heads to the nTelos Pavilion at Harbor Center in Portsmouth, which has
handicapped seating on the lawn.
“You can spread out and sit with your friends,” said Gage, one
of the protesters Thursday.
She said disabled people deserve to do the same at the Virginia
Beach amphitheater.
“We’re not going to give up until they fix it,” she said.
photos by VICKI CRONIS/THE
VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Shelton Stevens yells to
passing traffic along Princess Anne Road during a protest Thursday by the Young
Endependent Advocates, who are upset about the lack of handicapped seating on
the lawn of Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater. Stevens and others
chanted: “Amphitheater, show some class. We want access to the grass.”