Denver City Wire

Alison Butler, director of Division of Disability Rights, Human Rights and Community Partnerships, spoke Monday about the importance of improvements to the Red Rocks music venue.

The upgrades come after a 2017 settlement of a class action lawsuit that alleged discrimination in that tickets for wheelchair-accessible seats at Red Rocks Parks and Amphitheatre were more costly compared to non-accessible seats, KRDO reported. According to the Department of Justice, people who use a wheelchair and their guests were charged $47,950.90 more for seats than permitted by ADA regulations.

“Having more seats and a fully accessible row 1 can be a game changer to people," Butler said. 

Improved and expanded wheelchair-accessible seating in the front row by removing the bench seating and improving the ramp access to the first row to provide more room for wheelchairs and those moving along the row are just a few of the improvements. According to Rocky Mountain PBS, some seats in rows 2 and 3 will be reserved for those with mobility issues such as people with walkers and canes, and other seats will be for people who are hearing-impaired to give them better access to interpreters. 

Improvements will be carried out to the shuttle parking zone and a ramp will be built from the front row to the stage, which will benefit events such as graduations that take place there. Improvements are also planned for row 70, the row at the top of the amphitheater that also has wheelchair-accessible seating. 

The calendar of events at Red Rocks is available here.