Note
The letter has been updated with more fixes to grammar and other mistakes that I have found.
Information
- From: Armando Vias: armando@armandovias.com
- To: Macon Bacon Baseball: President, Director of Ballpark Operations/Food & Beverage
- Sent: Monday, June 12, 2023 at 9:44 PM Eastern Time
- Email Or Physical Mail: Via Email
Message
Dear Macon Bacon Baseball,
My name is Armando Vias, and I went to the Macon Bacon Baseball Game on Saturday, June 10, 2023 with the All Saints Episcopal Church Group. I really enjoyed the baseball game, even though that the team lost to the other team. It was a wonderful game though.
I am writing to you today to express my support for including people with disabilities as fans at your games. As a person with a disability myself, I know firsthand how important it is to feel welcomed and included in community events.
Below, I outlined a list of ways on making your games more inclusive for people with disabilities.
- Install Ramps: I don’t know if the stadium has ramps to go up or down. In my case, I had to go upstairs and go down some steps to my seat. While I was successfully able to travel up and down the steps, it is not easy for those who have trouble using staircases. I would encourage you to install an accessible lift or install ramps to make it easier for people in wheelchairs or for those who have trouble walking up or down the stairs to navigate.
- Provide Accessible Seating: For those who have sensory issues, I encourage you to provide a quiet area so they can still enjoy the games.
- Accessible Restrooms: While I haven’t used the restroom at the stadium, I encourage you to check your restrooms to make sure that it is accessible to wheelchair users and to make sure that the restrooms have accessible changing tables.
- Provide audio descriptions of the game. This will allow people who are blind or visually impaired to follow the game. For me, I had to rely on someone to tell me what’s going on. Also, when I tried signing up for Float Baseball, it wanted me to subscribe for almost $30 a month, in which it doesn’t make sense to me. One of my solutions to improve access for people who are blind or visually-impaired is implementing this service called AIRA. AIRA is a service that has trained agents that will help describe what’s going on, such as when a blind person navigates the stadium to look for concessions, watch the games, etc. This solution will be helpful because they don’t have to ask someone who is sighted about what’s going on every time that something happens. You can learn more on how to become an AIRA Access Location by clicking this link.
- Provide ASL (American Sign Language Interpreting Services) For Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Fans: This allows people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to enjoy the games.
Like I said above in the beginning of this email, I really enjoyed the Macon Bacon Game on Saturday, even though that the other team won.
I would be happy to sit down with you guys virtually or in-person to talk to you more on implementing one of these solutions above. I will be happy to come up with other solutions as well, for example, having a headset that will connect to any commentators who commentate the game for blind or visually impaired fans.
I have copied the President of Macon Bacon, and the Director of Ballpark Operations/Food & Beverage.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me using my contact information in the signature area of this email.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Armando Vias