The Phoenix Suns and Mercury have partnered with the Civil Rights Education & Enforcement Center (CREEC) and Arizona Center for Disability Law (ACDL) to offer open captioning at the teams’ home games at Footprint Center.
“All spoken word over the public address system will be captioned for Suns and Mercury home games from the time the arena opens to the public until the time it stops broadcasting to the public as well as all pre-programmed song lyrics,” according to a press release.
The teams will do so with LED boards in the four corners of the arena, which will give all seats in the bowl a visible captioning option. The boards on the second level are located in Sections 207, 215, 223 and 231.
Captioning will also be available on users’ phones via the teams’ mobile apps, as well as on televisions in Footprint Center’s common spaces such as bars, restaurants and concessions booths.
“We saw the recent renovations to Footprint Center as an ideal time to take the next step and further enhance the auxiliary aids and services we already offered to fans who are deaf or hard of hearing by providing open captioning as part of the new LED technology being installed in the arena,” Footprint Center general manager Ralph Marchetta said in a press release.
“It is our belief, supported by our alliance with CREEC and ACDL, that Footprint Center now provides fans with disabilities with an even more enjoyable experience.”