A Utah resident filed a complaint with the federal government against LaVell Edwards Stadium for not having a permanently installed active listening system to accommodate her hearing-impaired daughter at the Stadium of Fire event.

The complaint, filed with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) division of the U.S. Department of Justice last week, is awaiting review.

Lareen Strong called the stadium ticket office on April 3 to determine whether or not there was a specific seating section designated for hearing-impaired individuals, in which she should purchase tickets for the Stadium of Fire.

"We've never had to go to a stadium setting before," Strong said. "I called a day ahead of time, but usually I don't need to."

In her formal letter of complaint, Strong said she spoke with five individuals over the course of two days, and no one was able to answer her questions.

Strong received a call from events services the following Thursday informing her that if she were to get tickets for Stadium of Fire, she should let the staff know and someone would go to Salt Lake City to get a hearing assistance device for her daughter to use.

"I told them I might take them up on their offer, but that it doesn't erase the fact that they are not in compliance with federal law," Strong said. "They are supposed to have them at the box office available for anyone to just ask for them."

According to the ADA, assembly areas that accommodate at least 50 people or have audio-amplification systems and have fixed seating are required to have a permanently installed active listening system. The document also says "the minimum number of receivers to be provided shall be equal to 4 percent of the total number of seats, but in no case less than two." Signage notifying patrons of the availability of a listening system is also required.

Under this formula, LaVell Edwards Stadium, with a capacity of 65,000, would be required to have a permanently installed active listening system capable of accommodating approximately 2,600 individuals.

"We don't install hearing aid devices permanently at the stadium, because only seven events are held there - six home football games and the Stadium of Fire," said David Miles, the assistant director of Special Events.

Miles also said BYU has installed permanent devices at the Marriott Center, because they get one or two calls per event inquiring about them. They have never before received such a request for the stadium.

"We told her that if she got tickets, to let us know and we would accommodate her daughter," Miles said. "We would assume the responsibility of borrowing a portable device from the church in Salt Lake."

Suzanne Stratton, an event manager for Marriott Center Special Events and one of the individuals Strong spoke with, said they need a few days notice for that kind of a request.

"For any event anywhere, it is an industry standard that you don't have interpreters available on hand," Stratton said.

Of the six stadiums in the Mountain West Conference contacted by the Daily Universe, only one has devices for the hearing impaired permanently and readily available. At San Diego State's Qualcomm Stadium, devices are available for check-out at guest services upon arrival.

UNLV's Sam Boyd Stadium is not equipped with devices, but said it does have a section in which it could provide an interpreter if necessary.

University of New Mexico currently has no listening devices, but will have a permanent listening system in place following their planned $16 million renovation.

Air Force's Falcon Stadium, University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium and Texas Christian University's Amon Carter Stadium have no form of assistance available.

Many of the ticket offices had never before received a request for hearing assistance.

Strong encountered an ADA violation once before with a theater in Kaysville, but didn't file a complaint because of its smallness.

"Because it was BYU and because the facility is so big, I decided to take action," Strong said. "I was surprised that they didn't know what the federal law was and that they chose not to abide by it."

Carri Jenkins of BYU University Communications said this is the first time an ADA complaint has been filed against BYU.

Strong's complaint will go directly to the ADA investigations unit where it will be reviewed for validity. If it passes the review and an investigation is conducted, the process will take 3-4 months.

Copyright Brigham Young University 11 Apr 2008