CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Colorado Springs-area man part of lawsuit against Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Gazette - 12/9/2016

Dec. 08--Jim Vacik didn't realize the 90-minute storm delay of a rock concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater would put him in the middle of a crusade for equal access.

The 55-year-old Security-Widefield man, who has used a wheelchair since a snow-tubing accident in his late teens, made his way backstage at the Aug. 30 Heart show where he and four other wheelchair users waited out the squall. The group used the time to vent about a years-long problem that they say makes it difficult for them to watch a show at the famous venue carved into a mountain southwest of Denver.

A was filed in U.S. District court on Dec. 1 claiming Denver Arts & Venues, which runs Red Rocks, has violated the American Disabilities Act.

"People started talking about it, so I asked to be included," Vacik said. "They thought if we joined forces, we could get things done."

The suit was filed by the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition and Disability Law Colorado on behalf of Vacik, and Carrie Ann Lucas, Kirk Williams, Matthew Feeney, Kalyn Heffernan and Frank Mango of the Denver area.

The plaintiffs say Red Rocks is 40 seats short of the necessary wheelchair-accessible seating mandated under the American Disabilities Act and the 2010 Department of Justice Standards for Accessible Design for a venue its size. Those 2010 standards show that Red Rocks should have 118 wheelchair and companion seats for its capacity but instead only has 78, according to the suit filed in December.

"We have brought this to the city's attention for months and years," said Alison Daniels, an attorney with Disability Law Colorado.

Daniels and Vacik said the issue has been compounded by websites like StubHub.com that resell tickets. For example, front row wheelchair accessible seats sold out almost immediately on Dec. 2 for next year's Nathaniel Rateliff concert, Vasic said.. He found the tickets on StubHub for grossly inflated prices. A quick search of StubHub on Thursday revealed the seats, with a face value of less than $50, were advertised as "Front Row Center" for up to $599 apiece without mention of any wheelchair accessibility.

"People buying those tickets may not know that those seats are intended for wheelchair access," Daniels said.

Vacik said Red Rocks has used implemented a "re-seating" policy that allowed the wheelchair row tickets to be sold to anyone, and venue management would swap the non-accessible seat for one in the front row or the other accessible area occupied by the "able-bodied" patron.

Vacik and Daniels said that doesn't happen anymore, especially in the front row.

"This is not an issue that's intended to put wheelchair people in a special category," Vacik said.

The lawsuit does not ask for monetary rewards, except for reimbursement of legal expenses and court costs. Daniels said it is about "notice and enforcement" and making sure Red Rocks' accessibility meets federal requirements.

"You have to make sure that opportunity (for wheelchair users) to buy the tickets is really happening," she said.

Vacik said he hopes the lawsuit and the publicity that comes along with it will raise awareness and educate people to Red Rocks' alleged negligence and the need for better accessibility.

"Hopefully people will think twice before they purchase those tickets," he said.

Denver Arts & Venues spokesman Brian Kitts responded to a request for an interview with a statement:

"Denver Arts & Venues has a long history of working with a number of communities to improve the patron experience for all, including complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. We continually monitor feedback and update venue operations in order to make all of our facilities, including Red Rocks Amphitheatre, comfortable, safe and accessible to all patrons. We will continue to work with groups representing disabled communities, in order to improve the experience of patrons with disabilities to the extent we are allowed by law, including the ADA, and the unique characteristics of venues like Red Rocks Amphitheater."

___

(c)2016 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Visit The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) at www.gazette.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nationwide News