MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge in Minneapolis today issued a consent order (a compromise of disputed claims) settling a suit filed by the Department of Justice alleging that Ellerbe Becket was not designing its sports facilities so that patrons with disabilities had comparable lines of sight to other patrons.

The agreement does not represent an admission of liability by Ellerbe Becket and there was no civil penalty imposed. Ellerbe Becket is an international architecture, engineering and construction services firm.

“Today’s action has clarified ADA compliance for our entire industry,” said Ellerbe Becket President Rick Lincicome, AIA. “From day one we have been dedicated to establishing an agreed-upon interpretation of comparable sight lines and to providing facilities that promote equal use for all patrons.”

The original suit, filed in October 1996, alleged that Ellerbe Becket was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by designing stadiums and arenas that failed to provide fans with disabilities who use wheelchairs with lines of sight comparable to those of the general public. Ellerbe Becket countered that all of its sports facilities provided a substantial number of elevated sight lines for wheelchair spectators, but that ADA regulations were unclear and open to interpretation as to what precisely was being required.

The anthropometric dimensions (human body measurements on a comparative basis) as they have been defined for calculating sight lines in public assembly facilities will be available to designers and others by referencing the Department of Justice ADA Home Page and reviewing the consent order and Department of Justice press release.

Ellerbe Becket worked with the Department of Justice to help define these dimensions. These dimensions are expected to become ADA design standards for the industry until formal regulations are instituted.

“We’re extremely proud of our designs,” said Lincicome. “We’re dedicated to providing designs for highly accessible facilities and have been since before the ADA became law.”

Anthropometric Dimensions
The newly-established standard states:

1. Average eye height for a person sitting in a wheelchair is 47.45 in. (120.5 cm)
2. Horizontal distance from the eye of an average person sitting in a wheelchair to the edge of the tier on which the wheelchair rests is 30 in. (76.2 cm)
3. Average head height of a standing spectator is 67.65 in. (171.8 cm)
4. Average eye height of a standing spectator is 63.45 in. (161.2 cm)
5. Average shoulder height of a standing spectator is 55.65 in. (141.4 cm)

Sight lines for wheelchair locations will be calculated as described in the Department of Justice publication titled “Accessible Stadiums.” (NOTE: This document is available on the ADA publications page) Ellerbe Becket will provide annual reports to Department of Justice on the status of its ADA compliance and will continue to work with all interested parties to lead the industry in the area of universal accessibility.

Ellerbe Becket is the industry leader in arena design. The firm has designed or renovated 13 professional sports arenas in the decade of the 1990s, including National Car Rental® Center Arena in Sunrise, Fla., a “model of accessibility” according the Department of Justice. The firm also designed the 1996 Centennial Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, a venue the Department of Justice called “the most accessible stadium in the world.”

An innovator since its founding in 1909, Ellerbe Becket provides integrated architecture, engineering and construction services from 10 office locations worldwide.

Resources
U.S. Dept. of Justice ADA Information

Accessible Stadiums technical document