Disabled Protest All-Star Ticket Cost

While the National League lost Tuesday night’s All Star Game, some wheelchair-bound baseball fans say they were losers too.

Al Alcocer, a Vietnam veteran who lost his legs to a mortar round, is angry that while other baseball devotees paid from $40 to $60 to see the midsummer classic, people in wheelchairs could not attend the game for less than $50.

Alcocer and other advocates for the disabled say the pricing discriminates against those in wheelchairs and violates a federal law, which went into effect earlier this year, that guarantees equal access to public areas.

“If everybody else can buy $40 tickets and disabled persons can’t, then it’s a violation of the law,” Terry Knorr of the Community Service Center for the Disabled in San Diego said.

Alcocer said he called the San Diego city manager’s office and the San Diego Padres baseball club to have the pricing changed, but to no avail.

David Gilmore, ticket operations director for the Padres, said that seats for wheelchair-bound fans are available at all price ranges during regular-season games, but that he had no control over tickets for the All-Star Game.

“I understand (Alcocer’s) concern, but this is Major League Baseball’s event and they determine the price of the event and the way the house is scaled,” Gilmore said.

Major League Baseball officials could not be reached for comment.

Gilmore said All-Star Game tickets for the wheelchair-bound were still available late Tuesday afternoon and that the Padres rarely sell out the 75 to 80 wheelchair spaces during regular-season games.

Knorr said wheelchair-bound baseball fans avoid going to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium because accessibility is appalling, especially compared to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

“The experiences I have had at (San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium) have not been good, at best,” Knorr said.

To begin with, access to the stadium from the handicapped parking spaces is hindered by a curb that must be negotiated, Knorr said. From there, it is uphill to the stadium and the sidewalk.

An elevator for disabled people is shared with sports writers and is often crowded and slow, Knorr said.

When people in wheelchairs do get to their seats, they find other people seated in front of them, Knorr said.

“I’ve had a lot of people say they don’t like to go to the games there because . . . their view is blocked by people who can stand up when the game gets exciting,” Knorr said.

The stadium has begun to install television monitors above the seats for wheelchair-bound people so they can see the game when their view is blocked, but Knorr said the change doesn’t make sense.

“If I’m going to watch the game on TV, heck, I’d just as well stay home,” Knorr said.

In contrast, Knorr said, the operators of Dodger Stadium “go out of their way to make it right.”

To begin with, Knorr said, admission for a disabled person is $2, compared to $6 for the cheapest seat in the house.

Also, disabled parking is close to the stadium and there is no hill to go up, unlike other parts of the arena’s parking lot, Knorr said.

And the view of the game for wheelchair-bound people is unhindered by standing fans, Knorr said.

Knorr said the Americans With Disabilities Act signed into law last year is intended to give people equal access to public areas.

“A business that caters to the public is supposed to be accessible to all people, disabled people, old people and people who have mobility problems, as well as everyone else,” Knorr said.

Times staff writer H.G. Reza contributed to this story.