Forest Green Rovers

Please be aware that FGR will now only provide tickets for 2 away wheelchair users to attend matches at the New Lawn Stadium, both in the home stand as there is no accessibility to the away end. This is the first time in 14 years of regularly attending away games that there has been an issue with there not being enough tickets for our 4 regular travelling wheelchair fans to attend an away game. Despite me having various discussions with staff at FGR, I was unable to get any increase in the number of away wheelchair tickets they would supply. I was told that I would be a fire hazard if I sat in front of the front row of seats, despite this being exactly where I have been sat at many grounds over the years, including at FGR.

Arrived at the ground around 12.50pm via some very narrow country lanes which brought us out directly at the ground just a few miles off the M5. As an away wheelchair supporter your match ticket comes complete with a parking bay at the ground which is awesome as it is a difficult walk to the ground up a big hill. The steward directed us where to park, told us where the toilets were and directed us to the fanzone.

They had organised two live bands to entertain the crowds and a food vendor handing out free Vegan hots dogs. I did not enjoy mine, but to be fair, if you like this sort of thing, then alls good. There was only one issue with the Fanzone, it’s all road stone. therefore difficult to navigate your little front wheels and they tend to dig in so it does take a bit of brute force to get around, but once you’re settled in the marquee you’re fine. Its not a large area so still worth the effort if you actually want to see the band and not just hear them.

The stewards were helpful, the ground was easy to get into and the toilets ok. (but like most grounds not Stoma friendly).

As an away wheelchair user, unfortunately you’re placed in with the home fans but don’t let this put you off. A), you’re really close to the away dugout and if you going with a young child they get to see their heroes sat in the seats at the side you. And more importantly B). the natives are really friendly.

As with all grounds exiting the car park is tricky but as the Sat Nav cleverly directs you away from the main route down the hill where all the buses go and majority of the fans. It takes you back up the narrow roads and before you know it your back on the M5.

Lovely little club and well worth a visit. Hopefully they bounce back onto the football league real soon

I am a powerchair user and my husband is a long cane user. We visited as away fans travelling to the game in an accessible minibus that is part of our Club’s official away travel. This is at least our third visit since 2017 to The Bolt New Lawn Stadium at Nailsworth. I was therefore shocked to discover we have not written a review of any of our earlier visits. In a nutshell, sadly FGR is not good for away disabled fans as previous reviewers have highlighted. The one significant improvement is that there are now 130 covered seats for away fans (in the far end of the away stand from where you enter it) but (I understand) they are not step-free.

Tickets for Away Wheelchair Fans
These have to be bought by phoning FGR. Why they will not send them with the main ticket allocation for the away club to sell I do not know. This immediately discriminates against those away wheelchair fans who are unable to purchase tickets on the phone and want the option of purchasing their away tickets from their own club as do all other away fans. Due to this I have an arrangement with someone in this situation that when this happens, I purchase their tickets at the same time as my own and they pay me back for their tickets. When I phoned FGR I was told the tickets would be sent to my phone, I asked them not to as I can’t print from my phone and wanted to give the tickets I was purchasing for someone else to them as we were likely to arrive at different times. For the same reason I didn’t want the hassle of collecting them when I arrive at FGR and inevitably having one of us hanging around for the other for our tickets. They told me they would email them to me. All good. When they didn’t arrive, I thought they may have recorded my email wrongly. So I phoned and checked. They said they would re-send having checked they had my correct email. Still no tickets. I then emailed them asking them simply to respond to my email and attach my tickets, still none. Instead, they emailed back saying the would send them to my phone, exactly as I had asked them not to but still no tickets. At this point, although not easily defeated, I gave in and asked my Box Office Manager to help. Her response was no problem, I will get them and print them for both of you. She clearly underestimated FGR. The day before the game, a month after I had purchased the tickets, still no tickets from FGR! When they were sent through to my Club, wait for it, they were for tickets for a match in 2017!!! You can imagine the response that got! The final explanation from FGR for the difficulties was that there were two people with my (uncommon name) on their data base. Sorry FGR the fact that the 2017 tickets were for a match we had attended, I don’t believe your explanation, I think it is simply a case of “you don’t know what you are doing”. This was confirmed when we spoke to another away fan during the match who had had to buy their ticket from FGR, he had also been sent tickets for the wrong game!!! When I purchased my tickets now the best part of two months ago, I did ask to speak to someone about the non-discounted price of tickets for away wheelchair fans (the same as for other fans but with a qualitatively inferior experience), I was told the security officer would ring me, I am still waiting! When I enquired about this wait, on one of the many times I phoned FGR, I was told “well they are a busy person” and so are your customers! I do know that another family with a wheelchair user were intending to purchase tickets for this match but got so frustrated by what they were hearing, they decided to go to a rugby match instead. They told us that when they rang FGR to enquire about away wheelchair tickets, they were told that they would be sat on the opposite side of the pitch to the dug outs – no!

Arrival and Entry to the Ground
The stadium is at the top of a very long and very steep hill going up from the centre of Nailsworth in a residential area. When we have previously visited the official away coaches have been able to park at the stadium, this is no longer allowed and coaches have to drop-off and pick up on the main congested narrow road, outside the stadium. Our minibus was allowed to drop-off and pick up in the stadium but was told it would have to park across the road. Fellow travelling fans were so frustrated at this, they went to the Reception and complained, the person who they spoke to agreed with them, that the accessible minibus should not have been told to park elsewhere. To access the wheelchair accessible entrance, you need to keep the stadium on your right and go along the pavement (the only dropped kerb is at the beginning) to the far corner of the stadium and enter by the door that is before the last set of turnstiles on the long side of the stadium. This brings you into the back of the stand, you then need to turn right and go almost the same distance that you have just gone on the outside on the inside to the sign with your corresponding seat number (something like 68 I recall). Turn left at this point and you will be facing the pitch with the 4 away wheelchair user spaces and companion seats immediately on your left.

Seating Area for Away Wheelchair Fans
FGR is one of 7 Clubs in the English League where away wheelchair fans are seated with the home fans as there are no wheelchair spaces in the away stand. This in the 21C is totally unacceptable and totally inexcusable! Regardless of how friendly the home fans are, and the FGR fans were lovely to us, happily chatting and joking with us, the practice turns away wheelchair fans into modern day lepers, cut off from their own community. Yes, we could stay at home but that is what happened to disabled people in Victorian times!! Apart from it being an absolutely rubbish, isolating experience, I always point out to the Club concerned that if I was an away fan sat at the wrong end, I would be evicted, that is for a reason and the same reason should be applied to away wheelchair fans sat at the wrong end but ……! Principle aside, when I first looked at the spaces my thought was, they are too narrow, they have only removed one seat to give a wheelchair space, where the standard is always two. I did fit, just but it was tight in both directions as there is casing sticking out of the wall behind you so you can’t go right back and in the first space, I was hard up against the railings for the passageway, with the rubbish bag tied on just at the side of me for good measure! I have previously sat in this location, essentially on the halfway line just to the right of the away dug out on the long side on the opposite side of the pitch to the away end. I have also previously sat in the same stand but at the far end by the corner flag. I seemed to remember that when I was last sat by the dug outs it was FGR’s manager that was nearest to us and obscuring our view of the far half of the pitch. This time it was just the winter sun doing this during the first half and we at least got to hear what our coaches were saying! I say there were 4 spaces but the third space I think was unusable due to there being big electric charging plugs on the wall and the fourth space had a freestanding chair in it. The companion seats were in twos in between the wheelchair spaces and they were squeezed in as much as the wheelchair users. Due to the lack of space, my husband said he was repeatedly kicked during the match (completely accidentally and unavoidably) by the person sat next to him as they tried to relieve the discomfort they were in from being so crammed in. Had the FGR fans sat behind us not been friendly, they could have very easily thrown things at us, hit us from behind on our heads. As it was, it was only the match ball that hit my head (saved from injury by my hat)! I don’t know the history to it but there was an away fan with a companion sat with us in the wheelchair spaces who was not a wheelchair user but who clearly needed protected seating. Well done to whoever sorted this and I do hope it was done in a helpful, enabling way.

Audio Headset Match Commentary
Our understanding is that this is not available at FGR.

Catering
Food at FGR is it’s USP as (I believe) the only totally vegan football ground in the country. The first time we went I was really excited to have a veggie burger there, only to be massively disappointed to find that to me it was the kind of burger that gives vegan food a bad name. To me it was over cooked and tasted like cardboard. The next time I went I was determined to avoid the burgers but was persuaded from looking at what others were eating to have a vegan “sausage” roll which I recall was better than the burger I had previously had. This time, by seeing what others were eating, we were persuaded to try the chips. The refreshments for us were on the outside wall of the underside of the stand. What we got I would rate as the best chips we had had in a football ground (which probably explained why they seemed so popular). They were completely non greasy, one portion we considered more than sufficient for the two of us and they were served in a long rigid tray which was recyclable/re-useable and many it seemed were taking home. For a portion of chips and a coffee we paid £5.30 which we thought was excellent value. I have to say this was not everyone’s experience of the catering. My husband went early when there were few fans around, so he did not have to queue but we had reports of fans in both the home and away stands having to wait up to 40 minutes to get their refreshments. The view was, there were too few staff at too few serving points for the numbers to be served and the staff they did have were trying to rush and in so doing ended up selling inedible, partly cooked food.

Accessible Toilet(s)
I found one on the far wall, by turning left into the underside of the back of the stand. After struggling to open the door and get my chair into the cubicle, I realised, the lock would not work, so struggled to get out and find a steward who it transpired, knew the lock was broken, why not seal off the toilet as what good is one without a working lock?! Thankfully I was told there was another accessible loo just beyond where I entered the stand, a fair distance away! Impressed by the Faith in Nature hand soap, not impressed by the movement sensor which 3 times turned the light off whilst I was sat on the loo, leaving me in the dark having to wave my arms around to turn the light on. I wasn’t sat there for that long and some disabled people may not be able to move sufficiently to turn the light back on as I had to or would be very distressed at being plunged into darkness. OK have energy saving devices but please take into account that disabled people often need more time. The loo was clean, not over large but ok.

Club Staff
Due to us having been before we knew where to go but no one checked with us when we arrived if we did know where we were going and as with previous reviewers on earlier visits we have struggled to find our entrance and been given incorrect information by club staff which has sent us off in the wrong direction to entrances that were not accessible for us. On this occasion, the steward at the entrance got us into the stadium without any fuss but didn’t check with us that we knew where to go. Two stewards came and spoke to us early on but left quickly once we said we were unhappy at being separated from all the other away fans and never came to check that we were ok again. My husband when we went for refreshments and to the toilet experienced a complete lack of disability awareness amongst every member of staff who spoke to him. With his white cane in full view, repeated members of staff responded to his request for directions by saying “over there” and pointing which as he told them is completely unhelpful for visually impaired people. As a result of this failure of disability awareness by club staff he was left waiting at the wrong counter for his refreshments (he was at the collection point rather than the ordering point as he was unable to see the signs) and he gave up on trying to find the milk for his coffee which they gave him inadequate help to find and no one thought to check with him if he needed any help. It does not have to be this way. He came back from purchasing refreshments at Oxford saying that he had been served by a young person who had been absolutely brilliant in giving him clear verbal information on everything that he needed to know.

Leaving the Stadium
We retraced our steps back to where we had left our minibus to find it there. Traffic queued all the way back down the hill which meant a slow start to our journey home.

Overall Impression
The overall impression that we were left with was that whilst FGR might take the moral high ground in relation to their “green” credentials, those running the Club do not consider the needs of disabled fans to be important, if they did they would have wheelchair spaces at the away end, they would send the away wheelchair tickets to the away clubs with the rest of the tickets for away fans and their staff would know how to communicate with white cane users. Saying they are getting a new ground is just an excuse for their failings. Wheelchair users are not a new phenomenon, there are no wheelchair spaces at the away end because it is not viewed by the Club as important enough. This attitude is reflected we believe in the minimalist information they have supplied to LPF for FGR’s page on LPF’s website. They clearly did not think it important enough to provide any information for this page about the facilities for away disabled fans.

Thank you Level Playing Field for raising the matter with the club and finding a solution of seated tickets. Unfortunately, it was too late because all parking, including blue badge, has been reserved. There is a park and ride facility but apparently it is coaches rather than low load accessible buses, so still can’t go. Thanks for trying.

Further to Colin’s comments about the lack of seating for ambulant disabled fans at Forest Green Rovers, we are working with the club and the Safety Advisory Group to provide a solution. I am meeting with Forest Green Rovers on Thursday 14th September to discuss their proposal. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Hi Colin,

Please get in touch with Level Playing Field at: info@levelplayingfield.org.uk.

Kind regards,

Level Playing Field

Forthcoming game on 22 September, from STFC official site: “Town fans will be situated in the uncovered West Terrace (standing only) and we have been given 808 tickets for this fixture, including 4 wheelchair and carer tickets.”.

I appreciate it is a small ground and ticket demand will be high for away supporters, but in one sweeping statement, the elderley, frail and ambulant disabled have been excluded by not making any seats whatsoever available. Shocking for what is supposed to be a modern stadium. I was so looking forward to this game but cannot go, all for the heinous crime of being disabled. Shame on you FGR for such blatant discrimination.

I phoned Forest Green for a wheelchair & carer ticket and paid for it over the phone, spoke to Kate and she booked a wheelchair car parking space for us too. She said she would keep my ticket in reception for collecting. Thank you Kate.

We parked directly outside the home turnstiles and I went to reception for our tickets & also bought programmes in there.

The problems started trying to enter the ground, I asked at the wheelchair entrance for home supporters, the steward sent us to the away end, entrance was up steps and no wheelchair door. The steward there sent us to reception and said they would admit us through there. Saw Kate again and she said we couldn’t enter that way & she sent us back to where we started.

The steward there checked our tickets & opened the door for us. We hadn’t a clue where to go & no steward to ask.

There were refreshment bars & toilets in there, and a table selling programmes, scarves etc, No pies only vegetarian stuff so we didn’t bother, noticed most people were eating chips though.

We walked to the end, still no steward to ask. So we walked through a door which led to the pitch and up toward our own supporters. Ah, a steward there, so I asked him if we could sit in front of our fans. Hadn’t seen any wheelchair areas. No was the reply, not enough room, go back to the half way line. So back we walked in the pouring rain and found some wheelchair spaces near the halfway line. Not sure if we were in the right place as no one else was there we decided to stay unless we were moved on. This was pitch side so we got soaked and couldn’t see very well for the officials & staff obstructing our view.

Not a nice ground to go to, especially in bad weather