Last Updated on 11/03/2024 by Emma Purcell
Disabled football fans at Tranmere Rovers FC will be the first to benefit from easier access to tickets thanks to a pioneering partnership with Nimbus Disability, the creator of The Access Card.
Sports venue ticketing platform Alloc8 has teamed up with Nimbus Disability to incorporate the award-winning bespoke Access Card software into its own ticketing system, which is being operated at Tranmere Rovers FC.
The integrated platform will enable disabled fans to register their requirements and book online season tickets, tickets for home and away fixtures, coach travel and parking quickly and easily – breaking down the barriers they face to enjoying live football.
Fans who also sign up for Nimbus’ Access Card will be able to join the thousands of disabled people across the UK who benefit from easier ticket bookings at major venues across the UK and beyond including West End theatres, Buckingham Palace, Disneyland Paris, and The O2 Arena.
About Nimbus Disability
Nimbus Disability, based in Derby, is a social enterprise company run by disabled people for disabled people, which is recognised as a lead authority on accessible ticketing in the UK.
Nimbus’ Access Card was recognised with a Ticketing Business Award in 2021 and, more recently, The Queen’s Award for Innovation.
Powered by the Nimbus Operating System (NOS), Nimbus Disability’s bespoke software, the Access Card system translates its holder’s disability/impairment/access requirements into symbols, highlighting the barriers they face.
Then, when cardholders book tickets online, NOS automatically informs the ticket booking system about the access requirements that individuals need.
This has vastly improved access for disabled people who previously had to provide benefit entitlement letters or invasive amounts of personal information each time they booked tickets for festivals, cinemas, theatres and more.
Access Card welcomed by the football community
The move was welcomed by Philip Downs MBE who, for the past 30 years has been at the forefront of promoting equal access to sport for disabled people.
He was the founder of MUDSA (Manchester United Disabled Supporters Association), the first of its kind and most successful in the world.
Nationally recognised, Phil was also co‐founder of the National Association of Disabled Supporters (now Level Playing Field) and is now a founder member of Estadio Accesible – helping Spanish clubs to achieve full accessibility for their fans with disabilities.
He said: “This partnership has the potential to be a game changer nationally and internationally for both disabled people and for sports clubs.
The Access Card creates a level playing field for disabled fans and makes the whole process of booking accessible tickets far less time-consuming and arduous for football clubs’ disability liaison officers.
I congratulate everyone involved in this forward-thinking move and for their commitment to bring the loose ends together so that disabled people can enjoy life as much as everyone else.”
Pete Hewison, Product Director at Alloc8, said: “This development partnership with Nimbus Disability is a natural step in our commitment to transforming the way clubs, venues and fans interact.
Our integration with the Access Card allows holders to complete online registration and access tickets within seconds. Alloc8 will intelligently apply venue-specific adjustments to support and enhance the fan experience, based on the individual.
These include the assignment of accessible entrances to tickets, the auto-selection of adjacent seats for personal assistants, granting access to protected inventory such as amenity seats, easy access seats and wheelchair accommodation and access to services such as audio descriptive commentary, sensory rooms, and meet and greet car park transfers.
The information required to power these system adjustments is supplied by our Access Card integration in real-time.”
Venue service and access teams receive notifications when online registrations are completed and can make further adjustments where appropriate. The venue staff can communicate directly with fans through the service notification module negating the need for phone calls, emails and in-person visits.
Pete continued: “As such, we hope to significantly enhance the fan experience whilst freeing up time for staff to focus on providing support and service, rather than on manual procedures and lengthy processes.
In partnership with Nimbus Disability, Tranmere Rovers, and sports clubs and organisations across the UK, we look forward to continuing to support fans, clubs and venues, using the power of technology to enhance the fan experience for all.”
Christine Roberts, head of the matchday and supporter relations at Tranmere Rovers FC, added: “As a community club, Tranmere Rovers are always looking at how we can improve the matchday journey for all supporters and remove any unnecessary barriers.
We know from speaking with our supporter groups, that purchasing tickets has been an obstacle for supporters with disabilities at other venues.
This is something we’ve worked hard to remove already with Alloc8 and, by linking with the Access Card, it should make the process even more efficient for supporters who are already registered with Nimbus.”
Martin Austin MBE is the Managing Director of Nimbus Disability. He concluded: “The Access Card is all about providing consistency for disabled people – whether that is going to a football match, theatre or local coffee shop.
As disabled people ourselves, our mission is to provide a universal, digitised way of communicating all verified access requirements, from eligibility for companion tickets to the necessity for wheelchair-accessible seating provision.
Our system enables each access requirement flagged to be integrated directly into ticketing systems to remove the need to continually call ‘special’ booking lines’ and fill in ‘special’ booking forms or answer personal and invasive questions over the phone.
Martin added: “Ultimately our operating system lessens the administrative burden on disabled people at the same time as opening up equality of access to online ticketing solutions from West End theatres to theme parks.”
For more information about registering for The Access Card, go to accesscard.online. For businesses interested in how the Nimbus Operating System can streamline CRM processes, visit the Nimbus Disability website
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