Toyota Center improves access for people with disabilities

Toyota Center and the Tri-City Americans have improved seating and access for people who use wheelchairs and their companions and attendants.

The new arrangements include a platform near the elevator with room for 10 wheelchairs as well as seats for companions. The platform will be available for all Americans games this season.

The partners have also changed the ticketing policy so that Americans fans who use wheelchairs may receive a free companion ticket for personal care attendants with the purchase of a regular ticket. They can be purchased at the box office or by calling 509-737-3722.

Toyota Center was built before the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990 and is not fully accessible.

In November, Kennewick voters will consider Proposition 17-4, a sales tax measure to pay for upgrades at the Three Rivers Campus, including Toyota Center. The project, called “The Link,” would expand the convention center, add a 2,300-seat theater and a new ice rink, and improve access for those with disabilities at Toyota Center.

The proposal would raise the sales tax paid in Kennewick by 0.2 percent to 8.8 percent, adding two cents to a $10 purchase. Voters have rejected the proposal twice, most recently last summer when it lost by less than 300 votes.

Opponents calculate that if approved, the sales tax would cost Kennewick households about $30 annually and say the project benefits private enterprise more than the public.

This story was originally published September 1, 2017 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Toyota Center improves access for people with disabilities."