During Molineux’s 130th anniversary celebrations on Saturday, the club unveiled its new sensory room in the Steve Bull Stand, allowing supporters with special needs the opportunity to enjoy matches at the stadium without feeling distress.
The room was opened by the man whose name adorns the stand, Wolves’ greatest goal scorer Steve Bull, and contains a range of sensory tools, games and equipment.
One of the first users of the room was two-year-old Jaxon Spicer. At such a young age, Jaxon is already a regular attendee at Molineux this season, but his mum Adel admits he can have a ‘sensory overload’ when he’s in the stadium.
“Sometimes it can get a bit too much for Jaxon outside in the stand,” Adel said. “At these points, he needs to be calmed down. It’s not at every game, just every now and again it might get too noisy for him and he starts to get a bit frustrated and upset.
“Now the sensory room has been opened and we can use it whenever we need to, it will be great for Jaxon. It was lovely to experience the new room on Saturday. Jaxon spent the whole game in there, watching the match from the window, while also getting the chance to play with the equipment to keep him calm. It is the perfect environment for him.”
Both home and away supporters, of any age, can use the sensory room as long as they have a match ticket to the game.
Laura Wright, disability access officer at Wolves, said: “The sensory room will greatly impact those with sensory issues, so they have a choice where they want to go.
“We already have a family who want to book into the room straight away because their little boy couldn’t sit in the stands and was leaving before half-time. He came to the sensory room on Saturday and, for the first time, was able to watch the whole game, which shows just how important this room is.”
The facility is just one of a number of initiatives which have launched during the 2019/20 season to further enhance the matchday experience for both home and away supporters.
Also launched at Molineux’s 130th anniversary match was a new viewing platform in the Sir Jack Hayward Stand to compliment the new disabled viewing area in the Steve Bull Stand, which was opened earlier in the season, as well as audio description commentary service for blind or partially sighted supporters.
“All of the people who used the service on Saturday have said how the commentary is much better for them than listening to it on the radio,” Laura said. “This is because it was live, second-by-second and it’s unbiased – so the away fans can use it too.”
Wolves are the latest Premier League club to install a permanent Changing Places toilet facility at Molineux as part of the club’s ongoing developments to make the ground more inclusive to people with additional needs.
Located between the Stan Cullis and Steve Bull stands, the new facilities include a height adjustable changing bench for both adults and children, a hoist system and a shower, ample space for the disabled supporter and up to two carers, a centrally placed toilet with room either side, screens to allow the user privacy and a non-slip floor.
The club also provides an accessible counter in the Wolves Megastore, with a low serving height and easy access, Autism Hour runs in the Megastore between 3pm and 4pm every Sunday, while disabled and carer tickets can now be purchased online at tickets.wolves.co.uk.
For more information about any of the inclusivity and accessibility initiatives mentioned above, visit the Ticket Office at Molineux or call 01902 828312 or email LauraWright@wolves.co.uk. Alternatively, contact Wolves Help via the online helpdesk by clicking here, or by emailing help@wolves.co.uk.
