The Super Bowl might be delayed..

[Guest MarvinisaLunatic]

SAN DIEGO -- A meeting next week between a federal judge, a disabled activist and representatives from the city of San Diego could determine whether the Super Bowl will be held as scheduled at Qualcomm Stadium Jan. 26, it was reported Friday.

 

Magistrate Judge Leo Papas was asked at a hearing Thursday to settle a dispute between the city and a disabled activist who contends the Super Bowl must be stopped because the city-owned stadium fails to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

 

Papas will meet with both sides at the stadium Thursday to tour the facility and determine what activist Beverly Walker believes are conditions that don't meet federal standards, the newspaper reported.

 

 

Walker sued the city after it remodeled Qualcomm Stadium in 1997, arguing that the stadium did not comply with the disabilities act. The city settled the suit in 2001, agreeing to make more than $5 million in changes by April 2002.

 

The agreement also called for 1,000 seats at Qualcomm Stadium to be held for disabled fans at any event in which seats are sold to the general public.

 

Thursday, City Attorney Gene Gordon, along with attorneys for the National Football League and the San Diego Chargers, argued that because Super Bowl tickets are not sold to the general public, the 2001 settlement does not apply, according to the Union-Tribune.

 

Walker's attorney, Amy Vandeveld, told the newspaper that the settlement does not exclude the Super Bowl.

 

"A season-ticket holder is a member of the general public," Vandeveld told the newspaper, and season ticket holders can participate in a lottery for Super Bowl seats.

 

Vandeveld told the newspaper that the city has also refused to act in good faith to complete the disabled-access modifications.

 

The changes were supposed to be completed by April.

 

Gordon told the Union-Tribune that the city has done everything "reasonably possible to comply with the settlement agreement."

 

After the stadium inspection tour Thursday, Papas is expected to take up whether the Super Bowl is a private event or a game covered by the city's 2001 settlement with Walker, the newspaper reported.

 

Papas said he would attempt to make a final ruling no later than Jan. 15, the newspaper reported

 

I dunno..I just don't think the Super Bowl will even as much as be delayed a second..

[Guest El Satanico]

Good hopefully something comes of this.

 

Well ok i don't agree with the holding 1000 tickets part. There aren't that many disabled people attending one event.

 

But the Stadium should be held to the rest of it.

[Guest Choken One]

Just give them Elevator Access.

[Guest DrTom]

I said when the ADA was passed that it would be the most expensive piece of legislation in American history. So far, that seems to be accurate. A lottery of season-ticket holders is NOT the same thing as selling tickets to the general public. The 1000 seats should not need to be set aside. But the stadium should have to comply with the ADA. If they're not, then the Super Bowl could indeed be delayed, unless they find some folks in San Diego who can renovate parts of a stadium really quickly.

 

It's lame (pun intended) that this is coming to a head when the Super Bowl is so close, considering the venues are determined well in advance of the game date.

[Guest Mole]

Yes, they should fix this. Seeing how my mother is in a wheelchair now, I know how much a pain in the ass it is with wheelchair access.

 

However, I don't think the SB will be delayed. I mean, it is the Super Bowl. The biggest event in America, with the commercials, to having the biggest rating all year long.