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Staff with KultureCity said enjoying a basketball game is something many people take for granted, but with new technology all the way from France, people who are visually impaired could follow the game in a way they never could before. This is the first time anyone in the U.S.
has experienced the technology, and it happened in Birmingham during the first exhibition game in the Boutwell Auditorium in 45 years. KultureCity partnered with Touch2See to bring 15 people with visual impairments to Friday’s game against the Tide and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Tablets with specially designed technology put people at the center court with just the tip of a finger following every second of the game.
Typically, people with visual impairments can go to games but wouldn’t be able to have this kind of interaction, and staff said they’ve never seen anything like it. “See the joy, see them being able to experience something new. It’s just exciting to be a part of something and not have that barrier for any individual to experience something like this,” Joy Palmer with KultureCity said.
“A lot of them might be able to attend a game but not actually be able to have that interaction, and I think that’s really novel for them.” People of all ages and abilities came out to see the Tide roll for the first time since its historic run in the 2024 March Madness tournament. One basketball fan said he and his family usually have to drive an hour to see the team play, so having a game here in Birmingham is convenient.
He said this was one of his son’s first time seeing them play. “I see big things,” Kevin Ingle, an Alabama basketball fan, said. “It’s the most excited I’ve been about our team for a while now.
I think another Final Four run — maybe we’ll get all the way there this year.” The Crimson Tide has one more preseason game against Memphis in just 10 days. Then, it’ll kick off the regular season on Nov.
4 against UNC Asheville..
