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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 1990)
Handicapped stadium seating almost ready By Stacey McKenzie Staff Reporter Construction on alternative seat ing in Memorial Stadium for wheel chair-bound spectators will be com pleted for the first Nebraska football game Saturday, said Joe Selig, ath letic department ticket manager. University of Nebraska-Lincoln handicapped students will be given priority for the future seating. Any remaining seats will be sold to the handicapped general public. The 12 to 14 seats will cost the regular ticket price of $ 18.50 and will be located in the lower part of section one in the northeast stadium. They will be equipped with an electronic lift and additional seating for one attendant for each handicapped spec tator. In the past, about 50 to 60 wheel chair-bound spectators have observed stadium activity on the ground below the north stadium. The new seating has caused mixed reactions, Selig said. “Some people think it’s great, and some prefer the north stadium,” he said. Most of the non-students who have attended football games for years probably will opt for the seating in the north stadium, he said. Handicapped spectators may pre fer the north stadium because they are protected from the wind, rain and sun, said Christy Horn, coordinator of UNL handicapped student services. The new seats aren’t protected, she said. “They’ve also been sitting down there for years” and wouldn’t want break that tradition, she said. The Association of Students of the University of Nebraska has been working for better seating for the handi9apped for about two years, said ASUft President Phil Gosch. ' ‘While I think we need to applaud the athletic department for this first step, there should be facilities of this nature for all handicapped individu als,” he said. The effort to obtain better seating has taken two years because of draw backs to the plan, he said. “It (handicapped seating) is ex pensive to construct and, at the same time, they’ve limited seat capacity,’’ Gosch said. To construct the handicapped seat ing, 55 regular seats have been re moved, Selig said. The new seating’s cost is estimated at $20,(XX) to $25,000, he said. Six handicapped students have bought football tickets, Horn said. Because of summer break, Horn said she had difficulty contacting students about the new seating but predicted that almost all the wheel chair-bound students would opt for the seating. About 400 handicapped students attend UNL, Horn said, and about 60 are in wheelchairs. Horn said she is not as concerned about football seating as she is about accessible classrooms. However, the students who have reserved the seat ing are very excited about it, she said. Still, many handicapped students prefer to stay home and watch the game on television to avoid exposure to the sun and the cold, she said. Other handicapped students still are warming up to the idea, she said. They are saying “let’s look and see what kind of a deal it is,” she said. : Sale! H THIS WEEK ONLY! Our new fall collection of men’s and women’s clothing, sportswear and footwear NOW SALE PRICED! * Great Savings throughout the Store! ^Designer Fashions included! * Layaways Welcome!