West Ham has today announced the official launch of a new Sensory Room at the London Stadium to provide a space for people with sensory needs to enjoy Hammers matchdays in a calm and comfortable environment. The new room occupies a box in the West stand corporate area which doubles as a TV Studio on UK televised games. For non-televised matches, the room can be quickly converted to the sensory room.
Some autistic fans with sensory difficulties, particularly children, can experience anxiety and panic amidst the noise and numbers of a football crowd.
The new Sensory Room which was developed in close conjunction with the Disabled Supporters’ Board and informed by best practice from The Shippey Campaign, will offer a range of calming sights, sounds and apparatus, managed on matchdays by specially appointed staff, to help supporters adapt to the atmosphere of London Stadium in safety and security.
Supporters will also have the ability to transition between an adjacent viewing room, where they can watch on in a quieter locale, or out onto a balcony; they will be free to move between whichever experience of a match makes them feel most comfortable.
Support for the new Sensory Room was echoed by West Ham first-team players Jack Wilshere and Angelo Ogbonna, who attended a soft launch event at the Southampton game.
Wilshere explained: “West Ham United is a massive Club and we’ve got a big following. We know that fans are going to have different needs, so to have somewhere up in the stands and away from the noise, which we know some fans will need, is brilliant.”
More information at https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2020/march/06-march/west-ham-united-launches-london-stadium-sensory-room