PORTLAND, Maine — The Portland Sea Dogs this week announced it partnered with a company to offer interpretation services at its home games this year for people who are blind and those with low vision.
The team is working with Aira, which offers a free app that connects users to an interpreter who can describe environments through a phone's camera when the season opens April 5.
“We strive to make Hadlock Field accessible to all our fans,” Sea Dogs President Geoff Iacuessa said in a statement. “This partnership with Aira will help us make Hadlock Field even more friendly and accessible to our fans who are blind or have low vision. With the Iris Network located just down the street from us, we always have several residents attending games, this will only help to enhance their experience at the ballpark.”
The Iris Network is a nonprofit that helps people with blindness and low vision.
The app can help users navigate Hadlock Field, get questions answered, and provide context to the events over the course of a game.
"During intervals like inning changes ... there is so much activity happening in the stadium and on the field that the team uses to keep fans interested, like dancing mascots, contests, giveaways, or the fan camera being pointed to highlight the fans in the stadium," Aira writes on its website. "A game attendee who is blind could use Aira to keep informed of all the many goings on at a stadium, on top of the details of the sports game."
The company said it has partnerships with companies like Target, Starbucks, and Bank of America.
