5 Reasons To Get Changing Places In Sports Stadiums In 2024

Accessibility has become hot topic in sport – here are 5 reasons why Changing Places toilets should be part of the conversation.

Over 250,000 profoundly disabled people in the UK rely on Changing Places toilets but currently, these facilities are available at less than 10% of sports venues.

Here at RISE, we’re passionate about improving accessibility in sport and our vision is to put a Changing Places facility in every UK sports venue by 2030. That’s why we created our #RISEFORSPORT campaign to raise awareness, push for legislative change, and support sports venues across the country that want to make their facilities more accessible for all.

Here are five reasons to get Changing Places in sports stadiums in 2024.

1) Accessibility is Ethical

Regardless of legislation, campaigns or initiatives, there is a strong ethical case for accessibility. All of us have a moral imperative to uphold the rights of disabled people and ensure that they’re able to fully participate in society.

Despite The Equality Act (2010) being in place for well over a decade now, disabled people still face discrimination, prejudice and barriers to accessing education, work, health and leisure.

Rather than get caught up in what the law tells us we ought to do for disabled people, we should consider our ethical duty towards others. When we think about ethics, rather than legislation or policy, we can connect our motivations to the heart of the matter – helping others in society to exercise the same freedoms we enjoy.

Currently, without the benefit of an accessible Changing Places facility, people with complex needs are excluded from facilities and activities that many of us take for granted. Or, if they do attend sports venues, they may find the only option for their changing and toileting needs is to be laid on the floor of a public toilet.

Not only is this unhygienic and dangerous but it’s also undignified, and understandably, many disabled people and their carers will choose not to participate in sporting events rather than face this possibility.

Changing Places improve the quality of life for the disabled people who use them, making it a moral issue for the whole of society rather than an issue exclusively for disabled people and their carers.

2) The Purple Pound

The Purple Pound refers to the potential spending power of disabled households. It’s no surprise that businesses that don’t take measures to adapt their services or facilities to disabled people will miss out on business from disabled customers. After all, disabled people aren’t going to pay to access your facilities if they literally can’t! It’s estimated that businesses lose out on a staggering £2 billion per month by ignoring the needs of disabled people.

Making adaptations, such as installing Changing Places facilities, ensures that your premises are accessible to those living with disabilities so your organisation won’t lose out on the custom of the 16 million disabled people living in the UK.

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image of a changing places facility in a sports stadium

3) Legal Compliance

Improving the disabled facilities in your sports stadium ensures that your organisation is compliant with Healthy & Safety legislation.

It also helps you to meet the criteria set out in the Equality Act (2010), which states that organisations must make reasonable adjustments to remove barriers faced by disabled people.

4) Financial Assistance

Cost can often be a prohibitive factor for many businesses and organisations looking to install a Changing Places facility. However, depending on the nature of your business and where you’re based, funding may be available.

In 2021, the UK Government announced a £30.5 million fund to accelerate the provision of Changing Places toilets across the country. There are also business grants available and funding options from the charitable sector.

Here at RISE, we’ve also partnered with Media & MGMT and We Raise The Game to bring you specialised bid-writing and funding search services, helping you cover the costs of your project and get changing places into sports stadiums in 2024.

5) Get Ahead Of The Curve

Changing Places toilets are already compulsory in all new public buildings and there are an increasing number of registered Changing Places facilities throughout the UK. However, much still needs to be done to increase numbers and meet the needs of the many profoundly disabled people living in the UK and their carers.

Installing a Changing Places facility in your sports stadium in 2024 not only puts one more Changing Places facility on the map but it also places you ahead of the curve.

Making Changing Places an integral part of your sports facility now means that you won’t need to panic if (or rather, when) new legislation is introduced and it eventually becomes mandatory in all buildings.

Get Changing Places In Sports Stadiums With RISE

As you can see, there are lots of great reasons to get changing places in sports stadiums in 2024.

RISE is recognised as one of the UK’s leading installers of modular Changing Places toilets and we’re passionate about creating safe, clean and dignified toilet facilities for profoundly disabled people.

We’ve already helped many sports clubs, arenas and stadiums to offer accessible facilities to their athletes and supporters. Our RISE for Sport solutions include modular Changing Places toilets, internal adaptations of existing spaces and new builds. We can also create sensory rooms and multifaith spaces to improve inclusivity at your stadium or sports facility.

If you’re ready to get a Changing Places facility in your sports stadium in 2024, we’d love to hear from you. Or, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can call us on 07729 224 738 or email us at hello@riseadapt.co.uk.

Get Answers To Your Accessibility Questions

Call 07729 224 738 or email hello@riseadapt.co.uk
We’re open Monday to Friday, 08:00-18:00.

To learn more about Changing Places, why not download our brochure or attend one of our monthly online seminars.

Call: 07729 224 738
email: hello@riseadapt.co.uk
08:00-18:00, Mon-Fri

To learn more about Changing Places, why not download our brochure or attend one of our monthly online seminars.

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