Local Man Trying To Make Lodi's Grape Bowl Stadium More Accessible For Disabled Spectators
LODI (CBS13) - Visitors to Lodi's Grape Bowl Stadium run longer yards than the players just to get to their seats.
A local advocate is trying to update the stadium for handicapped visitors, but he needs help to pull it off.
Today, anyone coming into the stadium has to walk around the entire length of the stadium to reach the north side seats…a total of 200 yards, "Which is a lot of walking, especially with handicapped people in wheelchairs," said Jack Fiori.
Fiori, a life-long Lodi resident, fought a few years ago to keep the 75-year-old Grape Bowl Stadium from being torn down.
"I watched it as a kid being built and I had the great opportunity of playing football here for four years," he said.
His mission is to now make it more accessible. The current ramp does fall within ADA compliance, but the easy-to-reach south side is usually reserved for the home team.
"This will complete the project for people to be able to come to the north side and not have to walk all the way around the stadium. That's ridiculous," he said.
Fiori and Lodi's parks and recreation department want a new ramp from the plaza to the lower seats. There's just one obstacle: "It's money. We simply don't have the money to take on a project of this magnitude," said Jeff Hood, director of Lodi Parks and Recreation.
The city spent thousands on renovations, and another $100,000 for a new ramp just isn't there. So Fiori is now on a mission to help raise the money.
"It's down to donations. We've done a tremendous amount of work here the last years. The city right now at this point, doesn't have the money," said Fiori.
Fiori says the sooner the city reaches $100,000, the sooner all football fans can get to the other side. He believes construction will only take a month or two to complete the ramp. Donations can be made to Lodi's Parks and Recreation department.
