Santa Clara, California (Crohn’s) – The 49ers are preparing to host the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. While the stadium is expected to be filled with hundreds of Niners fans, one family will not be there.
The mother of that family is in a wheelchair, and she says finding ADA accessible seats at the stadium has become very difficult.
When the family received the news this year that their mother would be in a wheelchair, they had to deal with months of treatment and uncertainty.
So they were really looking forward to this 49ers season — only to discover that finding ADA seats was costing nearly five times as much as regular tickets.
Jennifer Reyes and her husband, Angel, have been to Levi’s Stadium several times.
“The one thing I was really looking forward to was playing sports with my kids,” Jennifer said. “It’s something we look forward to every year, take all the grandkids.
They also have their own fan cave at home. But these superfans have not attended any home games this season. It all started with a diagnosis of a neurological disease that left Jennifer confined to a wheelchair.
“It only happened to me this year,” she said. “I spent most of this summer in the hospital at Valley Med.”
The doctor’s orders were to try to return to normal life. That’s when Jennifer tried to look for ADA section seats at Levi’s Stadium. Hoping to bring her family together and make good memories after what has been a complicated year.
Some of the available ADA seats are worth up to $700, Jennifer says. Jennifer added that the 49ers did not respond to her initial complaints about ADA access until she sent her third email.
Emails from 49ers fan services to Reyes say most of the ADA seats are owned by season ticket holders — adding any other available ADA seats as a hot commodity.
“We believe everyone should be able to enjoy events at Levi’s Stadium regardless of their accommodation requirements, and are typically able to accommodate the majority of accessible seating needs,” the 49ers said in a statement to KRON4.
They did not answer our questions about the availability of ADA seating or whether the stadium plans to install more ADA seating with the upcoming Super Bowl and World Cup games.
Jennifer’s husband says they still hope to go to a 49ers game this season and that the organization is making it easier.
“We hope they will reach out and do something to help solve the problems with their ADA seats,” Angel said.
“If you realize something and make a change, there’s no harm in trying,” Jennifer said.
Jennifer says there is no cure for her disease, and some people never leave their wheelchairs. But she is responding well to physical therapy and has a chance to be out of her wheelchair in about a year.