Despite the Cubs’ increasingly emphatic insistence otherwise, Wrigley Field was not ready for opening day. Even beyond the expected absence of bleachers, the stadium’s infrastructure was apparently overwhelmed by the gameday crowd, with bathroom lines stretching through the concourse and back out into the stands.

There were, according to USA Today, only two working bathrooms in the whole of the main concourse—that’s the sort of disaster that leads to fans peeing into plastic cups. We asked readers who were at the game to tell us what it like; below are their emails.


Jeffrey:



Saw that very corner with pee cups. As a practicing doctor, I know piss when I see it.


Libby:



Yes, fans were peeing in cups tonight. They were peeing EVERYWHERE. I heard there were only two working bathrooms- I know the lines were horrific and I also know that some were shut down early on because toilets just wouldn’t flush. Saw three fights break out before the fifth (wouldn’t expect much better from Wrigley). Guy in front of us went to get snacks around the sixth and came back saying they were out of everything but french fries in the concessions. Maybe they forgot the game was tonight?

Spencer:

Good perspective of the bathroom lines at Wrigley last night... pretty much guys lined up on the entire upper concourse throughout the game as only two restrooms were open on upper level.


Anonymous:



This photo is a men’s room line that extended the length of the 3rd baseline in the upper deck. If you’re familiar with Wrigley, the bathroom is behind the seats. In all my years going to Wrigley I have never seen a men’s bathroom line in the upper deck extend onto the walkway let alone be countless people deep. In the center of the photo you see the men’s room sign. All of the men are going to that sign and then down a ramp before turning into the bathroom. It was the same scene on the 1st base side. I heard people around me say it took 30 minutes.


Jason:



I was at the game last night and can verify that peeing in cups/corners was happening all over the concourse. I waited almost an hour when I tried after the 2nd inning. It was ridiculous. I saw 2 guys who ended up pissing their pants. I was shocked. I dont know what the bare minimum standard is but it wasnt available last night. Bars and restaurants are held to it by the health department. I’m not sure why the Cubs weren’t.


Andy:



Can vouch for bathroom lines - waited once, 100s of people, including guys coming up from lower levels to use one bathroom in left field. Never seen anything like it.


Tad:

Saw a guy pee against the wall while in the outrageous line for the bathroom. Was actually glad because all he did was bitch the 20 minutes in line up to that point.


Jason:

In the upper deck I went through two innings during my waiting in line. The line stretched from section 404 to near the middle of the bowl where the men’s room was. I didn’t buy a single additional beer after that.


Daniel:

I am from STL and this is absurd. We have been getting our tickets stamped and leaving the stadium to piss across the street. That’s takes 5 minutes compared to waiting 45 minutes for the bathroom.


Todd:

I can definitely attest to the dumpster fire that was Wrigley Field tonight. Took me two full innings to get to the bathroom, the upper deck vendors ran out of hotdog buns (but not hotdogs? per the vendor himself), and there was a toilet overflowing as well.. Feel free to peruse the attached pics to chronicle the evening! Jason Hammel wasn’t far off when he referenced Baghdad. At least there’s running water there!



Anonymous:

They were at least a half hour long. Men’s and women’s. Guys were definitely pissing on the wall...It was bad. Worst I’ve ever seen in the hundreds of games I’ve been to.


Brad:



While I can’t attest to seeing people pissing in cups on the concourse, I can confirm I waited 40 minutes to take a leak. I was in section 211 which is about 3/5 the way down the third base line. There is normally a men’s room right inside the concourse which is now closed. The line to the men’s room close to waveland and the line to the men’s room close to the main gate both started at the aisle leading into my section. It was awful. I’ve never had a worse experience out of the 200+ times I’ve been to Wrigley Field. You just had the feeling it was a construction site and was not ready for anything. It was almost insulting with the “pardon our dust” signs. Oh, here’s a picture of the “finished” scoreboard from the backside.


Mike:

I was at the game tonight - 30 mins was accurate wait time between 2-7th inning. 35,055 and room for 25k. Ran out of food - most stopped buying beer in 4th inning.


Mitchell:

I was at the opener tonight between the Cubs and Cards and just wanted to confirm that bathroom lines, even for the men’s room, were 30-40 minute waits since the renovation has closed at least 3 bathroom facilities on the concourse level. I can’t confirm the peeing in cups/on walls stories, but could definitely see them being true since the crowd seemed a little bit drunker than usual. Here’s to another 3 years of this renovation project!


Ryan:

I didn’t see anybody peeing in a cup, but I can attest to the long lines at the park. I was visiting from Houston, and had a prior engagement I had to attend. So I left around the third inning. I planned to stop by the restroom on my way out. As I walked down to the bottom floor of the stadium, I saw a mass of people walking shoulder to shoulder. I made my way into the crowd, and walked toward where I knew the men’s restroom was. Once I got to the sign for the restroom, I saw the line. I had apparently walked past about 90% of it while lost in the crowd. It was absolutely insane. I decided to catch a cab to my next destination and pee there. Wrigley was an absolute shit show tonight.


Allen:

Was at Wrigley tonight. I held mine, but my buddy was gone for close to 45mins to use the bathroom. Main concourse bathrooms were closed off and impossible, he had to go to the upper deck. Word is there were only 4 operable bathrooms total and 1 was for women. Going to be a LONG 6 year project, but hey Jumbotron is beautiful!

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