The point of the soundstage is that they have a space where they can get ideal everything (lighting, angles, etc.) for filming jumbotron content.
Saturday was my third game at TQL, USMNT games against Morocco and Mexico were the first two. It's a neon shithole. The lights look nice on the outside but the interior was designed by someone that doesn't understand simplicity in moving people. We were in 223. The mens rooms accessible to us had lines 100 people deep the entire game. When I was finally able to get in, the setup was so bad you had to cross the entrance line to wash your hands and then go somewhere else to get a paper towel. Even the Cincy fans in line agreed it's a trash design. At the Mexico game the concourses were so packed you could not move in either direction and we were in the Bailey. Complete trash. Give me LDC in a heartbeat.
I was there for the Crew's first match there, six days after we opened LDC. I thought the venues were pretty similar: Amazing place to watch a game, less than ideal in terms of getting around and getting stuff done pre and post.
There were also two completely separate women’s bathrooms, quite literally right next to each other, yet only one men’s bathroom for as far as the eye could see in either direction. Considering, what, 75% of the people there are probably men, how does that make sense?
Because (for the most common thing people need to do in a bathroom during a sporting event) women need more time to use the bathroom than do men, and the facilities they use take up more space on average.
Obviously women's bathrooms are going to be all stalls. Thats gonna take up more space in a stadium than men's bathrooms where you can have lots of urinals.
I was also one of those who stood in the what seemed mile long line for the men's bathroom with five urinals and three stalls. To be fair regarding the women's bathrooms, newer stadiums/arenas tend to place more bathroom capacity for women as women typically take longer then men. (Men a little quicker with the urinals). That said, the lack of the number of men's bathrooms/urinals/stalls at TQL Stadium is mind-numbing. I was wondering, originally the stadium was going to seat around 20k or so, with room in the corners for expansion. Then due to their crowds at Nippert, they ended up going with 25k. Perhaps the bathrooms were designed for 20k and not revised when they went to 25k??? (Doubt that, probably just incompetence).
GEODIS Park in Nashville holds 30k, and was sold out for the Crew match there last May, and I do not recall such long lines for the bathroom there.
I don’t know anything about building codes, but you’d think that in Cincy’s case they went with the absolute fewest number of bathrooms required for the stadium’s capacity. I mean, number of bathrooms isn’t left up to the architects to decide. To an extent, maybe this is bad design. But to me it sounds more like ownership that didn’t want to pay for more bathrooms than was required by code.
I was in 225 and could see the line from our seat - I checked here and there to find a good time to go and FINALLY right as the full time whistle blew at 90 mins I SPRINTED and made it in and out in just a few mins.
TQL seats more than LDC but cost less. They saved money somewhere. I've been to 3 editions of HiR and US-Mexico at TQL. For HiR I wasn't sitting in the designated visitor sections so maybe things are worse there. My first visit, it was pretty quick to get a beer from the concession stand. The WCQ was insanely packed on the concourses. The other HiR wasn't too bad an experience.
TQL doesn’t have a concrete bathtub underneath it. That saves a ton of $$$. They are both very similar stadiums. I think they are both tight on the concourses. Nothing stopping either ownership group from improving the situation.
Any restroom line is going to have a flow problem (pun very much intended) at an event that has (an) intermission(s) of some kind. But I've never had a time where I got in a line for a restroom at Nationwide at the end of a period and not been back to my seat for the start of the next one. I had that experience at LDC. Or at least I would have, except a lot of people bailed on the line and started using the family restroom.
A line to get in is one thing, but the whole design inside, like where the toilets, sinks and paper towels are, forces you to have to walk through the line of people waiting to use the facilities, causing more wait time. It’s a totally ********ed up design from start to finish
As I was walking the tql concourse I heard two female cincy fans laughing about how they like the stadium because it's fun that men have to wait in line for a bathroom for a change. It was certainly a take.
Can anyone remember back to 2021 and the gate behind the Tipico club? When walking around the back of the Tipico club, there's that gate that leads into the plaza near the giant screen. Why do I feel like that gate was closed in 2021? There is another way, but I'm not sharing. If you're in the northwest corner, consider leaving the stadium and walking along the road west of the stadium. I will say...if you're up along the north side, stop and listen to the drum circle for a few moments, although they could definitely move towards the north a bit and out of the pathway. If you can delay your exit, you also make it easier for people who need to leave ASAP. There were a few times this season when the pub would stay open late. Honestly, this needs to be an "every damn game" situation. With enough hype, not only could they make additional money, but it would also allow for everyone to leave the parking facilities easier.