Wave Outdoor, Wichita – not good for wheelchair users!
Last night, I had my first experience of Wave Outdoors in Wichita, Kansas, and my big takeaway was that accessibility for disabled people is not good due to their choice of using gravel in their GA area.
My wife is registered as disabled and cannot stand for more than 5 to 10 minutes, so she requires a wheelchair to attend shows. Because of the gravel, wheelchairs get bogged down in it, as the gravel is uneven and loose. I struggled to push my wife through the gravel, like trying to push a car uphill, so I don’t understand how a wheelchair user could propel themselves. I would imagine powered wheelchair users would also struggle, literally spinning their wheels in the deeper gravel.
As someone with stability issues due to diabetic neuropathy, I found walking difficult on the uneven gravel, especially during the show after sundown, when it’s hard to see the uneven gravel. The bottom line is that I believe the owners of Wave gave very little thought to accessibility and people with disabilities, which I think is unforgivable in this relatively new venue, which opened just five years ago.
OK, now that is out of the way, parking next to the venue, they were charging $10 to park, and it’s cash only, which in 2024 seems insane; why not have a card reader attached to a smartphone? I’m not sure if this parking lot is owned by Wave or not, but again, this plays into the lack of forethought in catering to people with disabilities. We got lucky and found a wheelchair-accessible parking spot just across the road, but on a busier event, this could have meant a significant trek to the venue.
Like all venues, drink prices are obscene. A bottle of water costs $5, the same bottles you buy a 24-pack for the same amount in the store. Beer prices are $9 to $11 for a can squeezed into a plastic cup. This is standard fair for live events, captive audiences, et al, so I cannot ding them too hard for this.
I’m not going to talk about sound as the venue does not have a permanent installation; bands bring in their own PA system. However, like all outdoor venues, the sound is massively affected by the way the wind is blowing, as the mid- and higher frequencies literally get carried on the wind.
I’d give it 6 out of 10; the lack of forethought regarding disabled people is unforgivable. Suffice it to say that we will not be returning to Wave unless they lay a surface conducive to patrons in wheelchairs. It’s truly sad that in 2019, when the venue opened, no one thought, “Gravel wouldn’t be good for wheelchair users,” or maybe just didn’t care, and putting gravel down was cheaper than asphalt or concrete.