Room to breathe | News

Utah’s professional sports scene is about to welcome a major newcomer. Salt Lake City is set to welcome an NHL franchise for the 2024-25 season. The arrival will require renovations to the Delta Center and is expected to spur the redesign of a downtown entertainment district.

These changes raise many questions. Will streets be buried? Will local businesses benefit from increased traffic from sports fans? Will Utah have a Stanley Cup before it sees a Larry O’Brien championship trophy?

These are questions I cannot claim to answer. But there is a small section of the Delta Centre whose philosophy I would like to see exercise influence and a role in implementing the revitalisation process.

In the upper concourse of the Delta Center, between the LL and MM gates, is a sensory room. The room is intended for children with autism spectrum disorders or other developmental disabilities. This information comes from the Vivint Innovation Center, which raises the question of whether Vivint’s sponsorship will continue now that the arena’s naming rights have reverted to Delta.

The Sensory Room opened in 2018, in time for Autism Awareness Month in April. I first encountered the room while attending a 2021 playoff game between the Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers. It was loud and rowdy, which is the norm for NBA and Jazz playoff games as well as many regular-season games.

I had brought my son Briggs, who was 8 at the time. He has autism. It was crowded and noisy, which is usually difficult for me – I would feel the need to leave a gathering at someone’s house in such conditions – although I can tolerate these conditions to some extent at sporting events and concerts in larger venues.

But for many, especially children, the threshold of tolerance is reached much more quickly. It is common for a game or television show to see the adorable sight of a baby wearing a protective helmet being held in their arms by his parents, basketball fans, like Simba. It is likely that more fans would benefit from hearing protection.

Fans may want to attend the game, but the noise and images can be too intense for the nervous system. That was the case for my son during this Jazz-Clippers game, as he was being picked up at halftime and headed home. After making sure he was out safely, I was walking down the concourse to my seat and noticed the sensory room.

This room felt comfortable and quiet. Maybe not “comfortable” in the sense that you might feel comfortable in a man cave: there are no fancy leather recliners with cup holders (you can’t bring drinks into the room anyway, which is a nice touch). It’s comfortable in the sense that it’s just a few feet away from the intense atmosphere of NBA basketball, but it feels safe and quiet.

In the room, tactile play structures keep children occupied and satisfy their sensory curiosity, as well as exercise objects for “big work” that help regulate the nervous system. There are also books and other objects to stimulate the imagination while providing refuge from the overstimulation of the arena.

I didn’t know everything I needed to know about sensory issues at that 2021 playoff game. I don’t know everything now, but I was better prepared to use the sensory room at a game last season. More on that shortly.

There is a model for a dedicated sensory space at a stadium across the pond. Wrexham AFC, located in Wales and part of English Football League One (that’s soccer, for the Americans here), has dedicated a section of its STK Cae Ras stadium to become a quiet zone for people with autism and other disabilities and needs.

European football matches seem to be electric atmospheres that attract many spectators for the “ABSOLUTE SCENES!” But many fans want to cheer on their team without being in the middle of the noise. The Quiet Zone offers exactly that.

The Wrexham club is owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and is featured in the FX docuseries Welcome to Wrexhamwhich can also be watched on Hulu (Programming Note: The Quiet Zone is featured in Season 2, Episode 2).

The Welsh team has attracted much praise and ridicule for its rise fuelled by an infusion of Hollywood money. But the Quiet Zone is an investment in a fan base and a community that deserves to be highlighted and be implemented in the world of sport.

Now back to the Delta Center sensory room. Last spring, I took Briggs, now 11, to another Jazz game. He wanted to be there, to the game, but he didn’t want to be therethat is, cramped in the cacophonous crowd. We were in our seats, but he was telling me he wanted to leave. The atmosphere was very unsettling to his nervous system, even though he was in a place he expected to enjoy as a young jazz fan.

“Let’s go to the sensory room,” I said. We left our seats.

We spent much of the first half and early third quarter in the gym. He explored the play structures, tried his hand at the balance ball, and even lifted a few weights. He was calm and struck up a good conversation with an arena staff member. In his own words, “I liked that it was a place that wasn’t too loud and crowded. Just a place where I could play with stuff.”

There was a time in my life as a sports fan when I would have been eager to get back to my seat for the game, especially that night as we watched young San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama take on the Jazz. But by learning about my son’s sensory needs and giving him a safe space, I was happy to stay in the room as long as he wanted. Sitting on a beanbag and watching the game on mute on a TV was perfect that night as he had the physical and mental space to regulate his nervous system. We eventually made it back to our seats and he was able to enjoy a Jazz victory.

With all the luxury suites and premier gameday experiences that sports venues offer, a space like the Sensory Room is an investment in inclusion that won’t be at the forefront of the highlights, but will create grateful fans for life. Adding more of these spaces and amenities is a win in itself and, if you believe in it, can bring good karma toward winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy and/or the Stanley Cup.