There is probably a reason why this firm wins a lot of bids, when you don’t have to follow the rules you can do things on the cheap (think bouncing Mezzanine at the Pavilion);
42 U.S.C. 12181 under title III of the American with Disabilities Act states, “requires places of public accommodation and commercial facilities to be designed, constructed, and altered in compliance with the accessibility standards.”
So that brings us back to Ellerbe Becket.
According to the Department of Justice, they began investigating Ellerbe Becket 16 years ago in August 1994, after the department received complaints involving these arenas: the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon; the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio; the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts; the Corestates Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the MCI Center in Washington D.C. and the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.
According to court paperwork filed in 1997, when Ellerbe Becket wanted to have several claims against them dismissed, the plaintiff who was the United States government said, “wheelchair seating locations did not provide lines of sight over standing spectators.”
I remember taking an ADA course when I worked at the Pavilion. This is serious business – there is no room for skimping.