ADA Series Bleachers feature wheelchair seating areas with companion seating to meet ADA accessibility requirements. Available with chainlink or vertical picket guardrail system.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law that administers how facilities provide access and accommodations to persons with disabilities. Some governing agencies will be specific to how they want to apply this law and will provide plans for review during the approval/permit process accordingly, while others will rely on the design professionals to incorporate ADA. In either case, each new facility provides assembly seating in the United States should comply with the ADA and its guidelines.
The ADA has several items addressing assembly occupancies and what must be provided to accommodate those with disabilities. NRS provides a wide variety of ADA approved systems that feature wheelchair seating areas with companion seating to meet the ADA accessibility requirements.
When planning an ADA bleacher, it is important to keep these 4 key guidelines in mind; quantity, location, access, and sightlines.
- Quantity – The number of wheelchair accessible spaces is very important, and should follow the below chart. ADA Seating Chart (PDF)
- Location – The location of the wheelchair spaces must be an integral part of the seating plan, and must allow space for companion seating.
- Access – Accessible seating must be on an accessible route that provides access from parking and connects to all public areas.
- Sightlines – Where applicable, spaces shall be dispersed providing spectators with choices of viewing angles with lines of sight equivalent to other members of the audience.
According to the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, assembly areas shall comply with the provisions of the 2010 standards sections 221 and 802. In addition, assembly areas shall ensure that:
(1) In stadiums, arenas, and grandstands, wheelchair spaces and companion seats are dispersed to all levels that include seating served by an accessible route;
(2) Assembly areas that are required to horizontally disperse wheelchair spaces and companion seats by section 221.2.3.1 of the 2010 Standards and have seating encircling, in whole or in part, a field of play or performance area shall disperse wheelchair spaces and companion seats around that field of play or performance area;
(3) Wheelchair spaces and companion seats are not located on (or obstructed by) temporary platforms or other movable structures, except that when an entire seating section is placed on temporary platforms or other movable structures in an area where fixed seating is not provided, in order to increase seating for an event, wheelchair spaces and companion seats may be placed in that section. When wheelchair spaces and companion seats are not required to accommodate persons eligible for those spaces and seats, individual, removable seats may be placed in those spaces and seats;
(4) Stadium-style movie theaters shall locate wheelchair spaces and companion seats on a riser or cross-aisle in the stadium section that satisfies at least one of the following criteria:
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- It is located within the rear 60% of the seats provided in an auditorium; or
- It is located within the area of an auditorium in which the vertical viewing angles (as measured to the top of the screen) are from the 40th to the 100th percentile of vertical viewing angles for all seats as ranked from the seats in the first row (1st percentile) to seats in the back row (100th percentile).
ADA Ramps
Our Accessible bleacher solutions offer either an ADA Series for wheelchair seating or ADA Accessible ramps. When planning your ramp, there are several key factors to keep in mind.
- ADA Accessible ramps must provide 1” rise per 12” run
- The maximum distance without resting platform is 30’
- 60” clear turning space required
- Ramp configurations can have various exit points, contact us for more information!
