Hard Rock Stadium draws thousands of fans each weekend to watch the Canes play, but navigating the stadium can look a little different for fans with disabilities.
The stadium lists several accommodations for guests with disabilities, including designated seating, accessible parking, wheelchair escorts and a sensory room.
But, as early as October 2022, fans and students have raised concerns about how accessible the stadium actually is.
Transportation and parking
Freshman Elle Yona, a wheelchair user, documented transportation difficulties during the Hurricanes’ Sept. 26 game against Central Michigan in a video she posted on TikTok.
In the video, Yona showed several problems she encountered as a wheelchair user. It received more than 414K views and nearly 50K likes.
UM’s 2026 football parking information website lists five designated ADA parking areas at Hard Rock stadium, each with specific stadium entrance gates. The ADA parking lots open five hours before kickoff.
The University also offers the HRS Express, a free, air-conditioned shuttle that transports fans between Lot 70 and the stadium. The service is available to everyone and passengers do not need a separate ticket to board.
The post showed the shuttle bus ramp malfunctioning as Yona was getting onto and off the HRS Express bus, leaving her stranded off the ground on the platform for about five minutes while the ramp was repaired.
According to the HRS Express FAQ, select shuttles are ADA accessible, although the University does not specify how many vehicles offer the accommodation.
Yona also encountered difficulties boarding the bus after the game. She said the driver refused to allow two wheelchair users on the bus, despite two empty seats, after she and her family waited 20 minutes.
The Hurricane reached out to Yona directly for a quote but did not receive a response.
Rideshare services can pose accessibility issues as the designated drop-off and pickup location is approximately a 25 minute walk from the stadium, according to UM’s parking information. The University’s website does not identify a separate ADA transportation service at this location.
Seating and ticketing
Accessible seating is a key part of the stadium’s accommodations, but fans have reported the accommodations being hard to navigate.
Michael Álvarez — a longtime Miami Dolphins fan — said officials told him that he and his 13-year-old son, Andrew, who has autism and had recently undergone a spinal fusion surgery, could not move into ADA seating because the seats were sold out.
“There should be some accountability on their part to make sure that these tickets end up in the right hands of the right people,” Álvarez told Local 10 News.
In her TikTok, Yona also recalled purchasing an ADA ticket in advance but still having difficulties securing seats for herself and her family.
She was eventually allowed into the accessible seating area with only two companion tickets, despite purchasing four ADA tickets for her whole family.
UM football’s frequently asked questions website explains that fans attending a single game can buy a ticket and then exchange it at a guest services table for accessible seating in that section.
Fans seeking accessible seating for an entire season are directed to contact the University’s ticket office.
For some families, ticketing difficulties begin before they even enter the stadium.
Joe Lizzi, a freshman in the School of Communication, said his family encountered issues trying to purchase tickets together for Family Weekend.
“Ticketing for student tickets is not the problem, the problem is buying tickets for the family,” said Lizzi. “A week after purchasing tickets [my mom] was prompted to pay an additional fee to put all the seats together, which was really annoying for her.”
Although his experience was not related to ADA seating, it highlights the overall challenges many families face when trying to book tickets together at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Miami Hurricane reached out to Hard Rock Stadium and the University for comment but did not receive a response.
Between difficulties securing accessible seating, limitations on companion tickets and questions about how accommodations are handled, these experiences raise concerns about whether Hard Rock Stadium is consistently meeting the needs of all its guests.