Going to an NFL football game is exciting and adventurous when you are in a wheelchair. But, how do you do it? If you love football, there is nothing better than seeing your favorite team in their home stadium. Being in a wheelchair presents both obstacles and benefits. This is my experience with FedEx field, but some stadiums have different policies.
First of all, you need tickets to the NFL football game of your choice. How do you get a wheelchair space at an NFL football game? Searching for wheelchair assessable tickets brings no results. There are handicap assessable seats in the stadium, but when you look at the online ticket sellers, there are no tickets handicap or wheelchair seats for sale. They just do not sell them. The truth is that regular NFL football game tickets are exchanged for wheelchair seats at the stadium. These special seats come with a space for a wheelchair and a regular seat next to it for a companion.
Generally these seats are at the front of the section. That is a real bonus. You get a clear view of the game with no one directly in front of you or behind you. Even with so-so tickets, you get great seats. You can exchange two tickets for these seats or just one for the wheelchair space if you are going to the game alone. Also because you are exchanging the tickets, you can get a better deal on tickets. Buy the cheapest tickets you can find for the section you choose. It doesn’t matter if they are front row, back row or aisle, you will be exchanging them anyway.
Great. Now you have tickets, but how do you get to the stadium? The parking lots are huge. Look on the team’s website. There should be a stadium diagram and a diagram of the parking lots. Find the handicap assessable lots. These will have shuttles with lifts to take you right up to the stadium. That’s another bonus, no long walk from the parking lot.
Above all, make your trip to and NFL football game an event. Consider going to the team sponsored tailgate party. You need to be there early anyway to get good parking and exchange tickets, so you might as well enjoy the food. There are other things to do during the tailgate party like meeting some of the cheerleaders and former players. Of course you will probably also like to visit the team store.
The key to going to an NFL football game is planning. There are extra things to consider when you are in a wheelchair. Arrive early. Get good parking. Exchanging NFL football game tickets is done on a first come, first served basis. Exchange early to assure yourself a seat. Enjoy the football game!