If You Build It, Will They Come?
Field of Dreams
by Steven John Fellman
NATO Washington Counsel
In the motion picture “Field of Dreams,” Kevin
Costner hears voices telling him to build a baseball field
on his farm in rural Iowa. When he asks who would attend
a baseball game in a cornfield, the voices tell him, “If
you build it, they will come.”
| Theatres offer state of the art facilities
for disabled patrons. However, the theatre operators
uniformly
report that these facilities are very rarely used,
except perhaps by six-year-old children. We thought
that "If you build it, they will come." What
happened? |
I was reminded of this movie as I took my
6-year-old grandson to a new Washington-area cinema over
the weekend. As we
approached, I noticed handicap-accessible parking with
proper signage and a curb-cut that allowed wheelchair patrons
easy access to the facility’s entrance. Two of the
entrance doorways were marked with “wheelchair accessible” signage
and were equipped with automatic door openers. Walking
into the theatre, we saw several automated ticket machines,
one of which was lowered to meet the needs of disabled
patrons. There were multiple box office stations, including
one with a counter lowered for easy access. I let my grandson
use this counter and he proudly bought the tickets.
As we approached the concession stand, my
grandson did not see any item that he did not want. We
went to the portion
of the counter that was lowered and he was able to easily
communicate with the theatre staff.
The journey to the auditorium was sidetracked
by a restroom visit. The lowered urinal proved useful.
As we walked past the guest services desk,
we noticed signage
indicating that assistive listening devices were available.
On the back wall behind the guest services desk, a number
of headsets were hanging on hooks. The guest services staff
told me that these headsets were very rarely used. When
we walked into the auditorium, my grandson asked me why
there were empty spaces in the middle of the theatre. I
told him that there were wheelchair spaces and that the
covered seats next to the wheelchair spaces were reserved
for companions of wheelchair patrons. We decided to sit
in the row directly behind the wheelchair spaces. The theatre
filled quickly. I noticed that none of the wheelchair spaces
were occupied.
About two-thirds of the way through the
movie, my grandson decided that he needed to go home and
we walked out of
the auditorium. On the way out of the theatre, I took a
quick look into three other auditoriums and none of the
wheelchair spaces were occupied. I asked the guest services
staff whether any assistive listening devices had been
used that afternoon, and I was told that none had been
used.
During the past several years, there has
been much written about the accessibility of motion picture
theatres. Disability
rights groups have claimed that theatres are not accessible
and because they are not accessible, disabled patrons do
not go to the movies. I have talked to many exhibitors
who have built, and are continuing to build, fully accessible
theatres. These theatres offer state of the art facilities
for disabled patrons. However, the theatre operators uniformly
report that these facilities are very rarely used, except
perhaps by 6-year-old children.
We thought that “If you build it, they will come.” What
happened? 
