Hillsborough Park Sheffield Accessibility Review

Image Description: Emma and Dev on the access platform at Arctic Monkeys Hillsborough Park, with the stage behind them. Emma is sat in her manual wheelchair and Dev is kneeling beside her.

Back with another accessibility review. This time for Hillsborough Park in Sheffield, from my experience seeing Arctic Monkeys there in June 2023. 

(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 a manual wheelchair user, I obviously can’t speak for others experiences but feel free to add your experiences in the comments!)  

Ticket Buying 

Tickets for the access platform for this show were available online via See Tickets. Once I had purchased my wheelchair space and carer ticket, I had to send in proof of disability (in my case a benefits letter) via email. 

Travel 

In terms of travel, there was no public transport involved as my friend drove us over, hence using my manual wheelchair. The major travel related issue came when trying to book parking. Since there were multiple parking options, my friend enquired as to whether there was a specific option for accessible parking. The people she was emailing really could not answer whether there was accessible parking and just kept talking about the ‘closest’ parking option. Anyone who knows anything about accessible parking knows that being close to somewhere isn’t the only element to it. You also have to take into account things like space to unfold ramps or unload mobility equipment. We ended up just booking the closest parking location and hoping we could sort out the access side of parking when we arrived.  

Experience & Seating 

The parking actually was the closest, as our parking spot was just over the road from our entrance to the park, which looked like it might have been a designated entrance for access. From there we found our way to the access platform where my name was checked against a list, and we were given platform wristbands before we made our way up the ramp onto the platform. It almost looked like there were 2 platforms as there was our section and then a section up a few steps behind us with more seating. I’m not sure if this was a separate access section or perhaps VIP seating. There was an accessible Portaloo at the bottom of the access platform ramp, which required some skilled manoeuvring to actually fit my manual wheelchair in and allow me to transfer. 

I had 2 noticeable issues with the access at this venue. The first is more minor, and that was the refusal to put my drink in a ‘double cup’ (i.e. 2 cups stacked together). I really struggle holding full plastic cups and often end up spilling drinks everywhere because they squish too easily, so I often request that my drink be put in a ‘double cup’ at events like these. Despite my friend explaining why we’d asked and that it was an accessibility request, the request was still denied. I understand that there are general protocols around these things, but surely some discretion can be applied when you state that it’s a request for accessibility reasons? 

The other bigger issue was the sheer lack of accessible seating. Even though we arrived prior to the first band stepping on stage (so relatively early) my friend still spent most of the gig sat on the platform floor because there were no seats. People who arrived after us were just straight out told there was no seating left on the access platform. My friend had to essentially spend the gig managing the platform and playing musical chairs to find a seat for everyone who needed one. Attendees shouldn’t be the ones having to figure these things out for themselves. How do you run out of seats when you have a LIST of who needs the access platform?! A seat should be placed for everyone on that list. If someone (like me) brings their own wheelchair and decides to stay in it, then you end up with spares, simple surely?! 

I know some people will say “It’s just a park, it’s not regularly a show venue”. When somewhere is selected as a venue, it should be checked that the infrastructure is in place, or can be put in place, for proper accessibility. If proper accessibility cannot be achieved, even down to basics such as having enough seats for everyone on an access platform, the venue shouldn’t be holding shows. End of story. 

I hope this gives some insight into the accessibility of Hillsborough Park in Sheffield as a concert venue. 

Stay Invincible! 

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)