Restrooms for Sports Days and Tailgates in Baltimore

Planning the count from the gate, not the headline

The count comes from the gate and the tailgate behavior of the crowd, not from a headline attendance figure, because the lot crowd arrives early and stays late.

A game may have a gate of tens of thousands, but the tailgate crowd can be a large share of that figure and it arrives hours before kick-off. A block sized only to the gate will run short in the lots by early afternoon. The plan counts the tailgate crowd separately and sets its blocks to that number.

We record the basis of the count on the plan. If the venue gives a gate estimate and the organiser gives a tailgate estimate, both are shown, and the count is the one that satisfies the busier of the two.

Lot layout and the vehicle lanes

Units belong on the firm part of a lot away from the vehicle lanes, the grills and the exits, and the layout is drawn on the lot's own plan.

Lots are busy with cars, coolers and people carrying food, and a unit placed in a lane is a collision waiting to happen. The technician picks the firm, flat part of each lot, keeps a clear strip beside each vehicle lane and keeps the door of every unit facing away from the grills.

The exit is a problem at the end of the game. A block that sits beside the lane out of the lot will be queued for as the cars leave, so the blocks are set off the exit route and in the lot's quieter corners.

• Firm, flat ground away from vehicle lanes
• A clear strip beside each lane
• Doors facing away from grills and food
• Blocks set off the main exit route

Servicing between kick-off and the final whistle

Servicing is set for the early tailgate hours, a midgame check and a close-out visit, and the truck route avoids the lanes at the times the lots are most crowded.

A pump-out in the middle of a crowded lot is slow and unpleasant for everyone. The servicing schedule puts the main visit before the lots fill, when the lanes are open, and a second visit once the early crowd has settled.

The truck route is agreed with the organiser and the venue's own operations team. A route that crosses the main walk or a vehicle lane at the busiest hour is a route that will not be used.

The permit file and the street walk

Where the tailgate or the walk between lots and gates uses public space, the restroom plan is part of the permit file and is drawn to the same layout as the lots.

The city's special-event rules apply to events on public space and to foot traffic over a set size. A street walk that carries a large crowd can be part of the permit, and the Special Events Office decides which parts are covered.

We prepare the layout as one drawing that covers the lots and the street walk, so the office can see every unit and every route in the same file.

Handover between the lot operator and the crew

The lot operator and the restroom crew agree who does what on game day, because a unit that is someone else's responsibility is often nobody's.

Stadium and lot operators have their own staff and their own ideas about who cleans what. A written handover says which party checks the units, who calls for a pump-out and who clears the spot at the end. Without it, a block can go unserviced through a whole afternoon while each side assumes the other has it.

The handover is agreed the week before the game and confirmed on the morning. The supervisor carries the sign-off sheet so any question on the day can be answered from the record.

Tailgate hours and the early crowd

Tailgate crowds arrive in the morning and fill the lots for hours, so the first block is the one that has to be ready earliest, and it is checked before the first car parks.

The early tailgate crowd is smaller than the late one, but it is steady, and it uses the units for the whole morning. A block that is clean at nine and not checked again until noon will be in poor condition by the time the lot is full.

The supervisor walks the lot blocks at a set time each hour through the tailgate period. A quick check of supplies and a note of any unit that needs a pump-out keeps the early crowd from finding a problem at lunchtime.