SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KRONA) – The San Francisco 49ers are facing criticism over ADA seating at Levi’s Stadium after social media influencer Kevin Ortiz highlighted accessibility issues during a recent game against the Atlanta Falcons.
Ortiz, who uses a wheelchair, has been visiting every NFL stadium this season and said he had difficulties securing ADA seating at Levi’s Stadium. He noted that most ADA seats are occupied by season ticket holders and are often resold at high prices, making it difficult for wheelchair users to find affordable options.
“I know I had this problem, but I had a great time,” Ortiz said after finally securing a spot. “Thanks to Levi because they finally got me seats.”
While he ended up having a good experience overall, Ortiz said he didn’t know that everyone with a large Instagram following and a video camera would be so lucky.
“The average person would probably have gotten pushback from the first person and just left. That’s what bothered me, too,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz typically buys a regular ticket and then tries to exchange it for an ADA seat in the stadium on game day. This approach has worked at 10 other stadiums, but not at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers told KRON4 they were reviewing a disability seat swap about a week ago.
“In terms of ADA seating, I think it should be something where they hold a certain number of seats for a day,” Ortiz said. “First come first served.”
Ortiz’s journey to visit every NFL stadium as a wheelchair user has been documented on Instagram, where he shares his experiences and accessibility challenges. His visit to Levi’s Stadium highlighted the difficulties wheelchair users face when trying to secure ADA seating on match days.
The 49ers have acknowledged the issue and are reportedly working on improving the ADA seating for next season. This comes amid reports of ADA tickets being resold at exorbitant prices, sometimes exceeding a thousand dollars.
Ortiz’s call aims to show other wheelchair users that they deserve equal access to sporting events and should be treated like other fans who don’t need ADA seats.
“People in this world in all shapes and sizes, all types of disabilities, who want to go to these events and have money to spend and want to watch these games, I just hope they have enough seats,” Ortiz added.
Following KRON4’s coverage of ADA seating concerns, the 49ers began discussions with affected families to address these issues and enhance accessibility to Levi’s Stadium.
Watch the full report from KRON4’s Jack Molmud in the video player above.
All facts contained in this report were collected by journalists working atCrohn4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat the broadcast transcript into a news article for our website. This report was edited and verified by KRON4 staff before deployment.