Disabled Supporters' Facilities
Wheelchair Users
Manchester United has the most highly regarded all-round matchday experience to offer any disabled supporter. 120 wheelchair places are situated in three separate locations around the stadium, ie, the South East quadrant where most of the places are situated and the North East/North West quadrants which both hold 8 places each. Every wheelchair place is provided with an adjacent assistant's seat and all of the available wheelchair places have an elevated view of the pitch. The general access wheelchair places, as described above, are allocated as follows: season pass holders (currently subscribed to capacity), rota group members (3 rota groups in all), approx 30% of total availability is allocated by a members ballot and 12/18 places to the visiting club (in line with competition rules). In addition to the above general access wheelchair places, Manchester United has a significant number of accessible executive facilities, 85 in total. Furthermore, modernisation of our executive boxes has introduced a wheelchair place per box with an external view (this does not apply to the second level of executive boxes in the SAF stand). Manchester United is also engaged in investigating the possibility of introducing more wheelchair user provision in some of the suites overlooking the pitch.
Visually Impaired Supporters
Manchester United offer 20 places for visually impaired supporters and their personal assistants (40 seats). 2 of the 20 places are given to the away club supporters for Premier League games, which increases to 3 places for Cup competitions. Independent Stadium commentary is provided via headsets which picks up an audio description of the game as a simulcast provided by MUTV as they broadcast their web commentary service. The above headsets are distributed by Stewards located in the visually impaired supporters area of the Stadium and collected by the same following the game. Each seat provided for the visually impaired supporter also has beneath it a 13amp socket together with a digital AV output socket which can be used with any suitable personal handheld device to receive images of the game as it's played. These devices are not provided by the Club but individuals are welcome to bring their own devices at their own risk. This facility is unique within the footballing fraternity and enjoyed by those with partial vision.
Audio Matchday Programme
Manchester United produces an audio CD version of the main extracts from the matchday programme. These are distributed free of charge to both Home and Away visually impaired supporters each matchday.
Assistance Dogs
Manchester United welcomes any disabled person using an assistance dog but we request advanced notification (in line with GDBA guidelines). We would request each owner considers all the implications of attending such a large stadium in respect of ensuring the safety and comfort of their dog.
Ambulatory Disabled - Row RR
This term relates to those people with severe walking difficulties who are not yet in need of a wheelchair. Manchester United, again, offers a unique facility for the more severe ambulatory disabled supporters and their personal assistants, a total of 21 places (42 seats). This row of seats benefits from the row of seats in front having been removed thereby allowing easier access and extra leg room. Also, grab-rails have been introduced between alternate seats. This facility is euphemistically known as Row RR.
Easy Access
For people with less severe walking disabilities, learning difficulties or mental health issues we have an area of seating euphemistically known as Easy Access. Initially, it would be advisable for those with this requirement to contact us for further information.
Hearing Impaired
Induction loop facilities are available at all customer contact points. Any requirement for induction loops in any of the functions rooms/suites at the stadium are provided on request and a text telephone is available in the ticket office for hearing impaired people to apply for tickets; the number is 0161 868 8668. Those with hearing impairments would probably like to be aware that Manchester United has recently signed a pledge to support deaf people in all areas of the club's activities.
Other Disabilities
Manchester United recognizes that there are a multitude of other disabilities and the spectrum of people regarded as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 is even broader in definition than one would first imagine. In most circumstances the people that fall outside of the categories already mentioned above would be able to sit in an ordinary stand seat and apply for tickets in the usual way; we would ask those individuals to continue using the ordinary application procedures in an effort to ensure that the most appropriate use is made of the facilities that we have. If you would like further clarification about this particular group of disabled supporters then please contact us.
Adapted Transport
The official transport provider of Manchester United, Thomas Cook, have invested heavily in accessible coaches. They have two coaches capable of taking four wheelchairs and at least eight coaches capable of taking one wheelchair. Those in receipt of away match tickets will be advised of the necessary process of ordering a place on the official club transport. Please note that combined weight of the wheelchair user and their chair should not exceed 120 kg. If you would like further information about this criteria and its impact please contact us.