Birmingham Resorts World Arena SOLO Wheelchair Accessibility Review

Mooooore access reviews. This time Resorts World Arena in Birmingham for Cage Warriors 109. I know I’ve reviewed this venue before when it was Genting Arena, but this time I was SOLO. So, what’s the difference attending an event solo at this venue vs accompanied? Read on to find out.

(Disclaimer: I’m aware “accessibility” means different things to different people, as I said before, these are MY views on my experience of accessibility at this venue as an electric wheelchair user, I obviously can’t speak for others experiences but feel free to add your experiences in the comments!)

Ticket Buying

This time around, the first part of the process was to apply for the Access Card specifically for Birmingham venues from the Resorts World Arena website. While I was waiting for that to be confirmed I was able to ring the venue and have tickets held for a specific number of days while waiting for the Access Card confirmation. So, in all honesty, once the Access Card was sorted it was basically the usual process of buying tickets through a phone line.

Travel

Travel wise, I took a train from Birmingham New Street to Birmingham International with Virgin Trains which let me tell you was a MISSION. There was an issue with booking assistance in that they wanted my wheelchair dimensions before agreeing to book the ramp for my assistance. This is not something I have been asked for before and annoyed me. I found, however that if you book via another company’s assistance line (Cross Country in my case), they’ll sort your assistance with no issue, gotta love a loophole! I arrived at Birmingham New Street 20 minutes before departure and was put straight on the train. I was then taken straight off at Birmingham International and followed the sign posts through the station to the arena. On the way back, it was my first time taking a train there and back from a Cage Warriors venue so I didn’t know if I’d make the last train. With that in mind, I decided to leave straight after the main event KO, regardless of how much I wanted to stay for celebrations. I made it back in the station 15 minutes before my train and managed to get on an earlier train than I’d booked even with issues on the line, there was then a minor wait at Birmingham New Street before I was able to disembark the train.

Experience & Seating

Firstly, what an absolutely class show by Cage Warriors as per usual, it honestly felt like going home after 6 months not being at a CW live show, I know that sounds a bit dramatic but if you read this thankyou note I’ve written to Cage Warriors you’ll understand why I say it. As for the venue, there are accessible toilets which can be accessed by radar key which was a welcome sight as someone who likes not having to ask for access. I was basically cage side, or as close as fan can get, same as the previous visit. The only way that going solo is different to going with someone is that there’s no one to bounce that fight night energy off of (aka no one to contain me while I lose myself in fight night) or to discuss fights with.

Cage Warriors, all the love as always, see you in London! I hope this is an insight into my solo fight night adventures!

Stay Invincible!

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)