SEP 14 1995

The Honorable Bill Paxon

Member, U.S. House of Representatives
5500 Main Street
Williamsville, New York 14221

Dear Congressman Paxon:

I am responding to your inquiry on behalf of your

constituent, William Reemtsen, City Manager of the City of
Batavia, New York. Mr. Reemtsen asked whether the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) requires a municipal government to ensure
that accessible seating locations in newly constructed stadiums
provide sightlines over standing spectators for people who use
wheelchairs. Mr. Reemtsent's letter also asked you to determine
the source of a single-page document containing this requirement
that was provided to Mr. Reemtsen by the Eastern Paralyzed
Veterans of America (EPVA) to enable him to determine if this is
a "new" ADA requirement, or merely a preference of the EPVA.

The document enclosed with Mr. Reemtsen's letter was copied

from the 1994 supplement to the Department of Justice Title III
Technical Assistance Manual. The Department initially published
this manual in 1992 to assist people to understand their rights
and responsibilities under the ADA. A copy of the Technical
Assistance Manual is enclosed for your reference. The manual
does not establish "new" requirements; it explains the
requirements that are now published.

In this specific instance, the Technical Assistance Manual

is addressing the requirement found in section 4.33.3 of the ADA
Standards for Accessible Design, which provides that --

wheelchair areas shall be an integral part of

any fixed seating plan and shall be provided
so as to provide people with physical
disabilities a choice of admission prices and
lines of sight comparable to those for
members of the general public.

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28 C.F.R. pt. 36, App. A, 4.33.3. The Technical Assistance

Manual explains that in order to provide a "comparable" line of
sight for a person using a wheelchair in an assembly area, such
as a sports stadium, where it can be reasonably predicted that
spectators will stand to observe the events that are occurring,
it is necessary to ensure a line of sight over standing
spectators from wheelchair locations.

For your information, I am enclosing copies of the

Department's regulations implementing titles II and III of the
ADA and the Department's Technical Assistance Manuals. If
Mr. Reemtsen has additional questions, he may contact the
Department's ADA information line (800-514-0301 (voice) or 800-
514-0383 (TDD)). Members of the Disability Rights Section staff
are available to answer questions on the information line from
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Eastern time, on Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Friday. On Thursday, the information line is
staffed from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

I hope that this information will assist you in responding

to your constituent.

Sincerely,

Deval L. Patrick
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division

Enclosures

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