Accessibility

Handicap accessible seating is available at various locations throughout the Sandler Center. Handicap seating is available to the patron with the disability and one guest. To purchase handicap accessible seating, please call (757) 385-2787 during box office hours or email larmitstead@sandlercenter.org. When purchasing tickets online at Ticketmaster.com, click the wheelchair icon on the event ticketing page to purchase accessible seating. Please be aware, only certain events online have accessible seating available. For some of our resident company's events, like Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Arts Festival, and Symphonicity, there is limited accessible seating available through our site, so patrons should call the Box Office for those shows to check on the availability of accessible seating. 

For your convenience, there are several available parking lots within walking distance of the Sandler Center. Accessible parking is available in all of the parking lots surrounding the Sandler Center. In order to park in the spaces reserved for disabled guests, the vehicle must have a state-issued handicapped window pass, sticker, or license plate.

A new, state-of-the-art Hearing Loop Listening Assistance System has been donated by the Norfolk Sertoma Club. The Hearing Loop will allow customers to experience Sandler Center events better than ever before by providing the clearest, cleanest sound available with today’s technology while making events more accessible for people with hearing loss or difficulty.

According to HearingLoop.org, the Sandler Center is one of a handful of performing arts centers/theatres in the state of Virginia with this technology. A Hearing Loop is the only system that sends the voices of the performers and instruments from the microphones on stage directly into the hearing aid, cochlear implant, or headphones of an audience member. Patron Donna Edwards, who is legally deaf in both ears, tested the system in January and had this to say about her experience: “Exceptional. I did not expect it to be that good. From the moment I put the earpieces in, I could hear. It was a joy to be able to hear all the words.” The Hearing Loop is available during all events held in the Sandler Center’s main performance hall.

The Hearing Loop works by sending out a magnetic, wireless signal that is picked up by a hearing aid when it is set to the “T” or telecoil setting. A patron can tune into the Hearing Loop by flipping the switch on their hearing aid to the t-coil program. If a patron does not have a hearing aid or their hearing aid does not have a T-coil, the Sandler Center has a limited number of headphone units available on a first-come, first-served basis that also tunes into the Hearing Loop. Patrons with a legal ID can borrow a headset from Coat Check during the performance.

Patrons who are unsure about their hearing aid’s T-coil settings should check with their audiologist or hearing care provider. Most hearing aids have the T-coil function, but it may need to be activated by an audiologist. For more information on hearing loops, visit HearingTechnologies.net or HearingLoop.org.