Opening day at Chicago's Wrigley Field was marred by hour-long bathroom lines Sunday night, forcing many fans to miss multiple innings, and forcing Cubs management to issue an apology.
"Opening Day at Wrigley Field has always brought challenges with wait times and tonight was particularly extreme. Two bathrooms in the upper deck went down temporarily forcing fans downstairs where we already were experiencing issues with long wait times. With 35,000 fans showing up in the ballpark tonight, we were simply not prepared to handle guests during peak periods," stadium reps
told NBC Sports.
"We have high standards for service and we missed the mark tonight. We want to apologize to our fans for the inconvenience tonight. Moving forward we plan to supplement the existing restrooms with additional portable units and will continue to monitor wait times."
Wrigley is currently undergoing a massive, $575 million renovation, and not only were several bathrooms out of commission, but the outfield bleachers — and the Bleacher Bums that sit on 'em — were out of commission.
That's left neighbors with constant jackhammering and some fans with no apparent option but to relieve themselves in their beer and soda cups.
"The only semblance of normalcy [on Opening Night] was a Chicago Cubs' defeat Sunday night, losing 3-0 to the rival St. Louis Cardinals in front of 35,035 fans,"
wrote USA Today.
Nonetheless, the new construction has given way to Wrigley's new Jumbotron, which loomed large and bright over the game.
Some fans are hopeful that the new look and feel of the stadium will translate into a newly invigorated team — as the Cubs have not won the National League pennant since 1945, nor the World Series since 1908.
"In the past when they've been terrible, at least you had Sammy Sosa hitting home runs or Mitch Williams falling off the side of the mound," said Zach Strauss, owner of the Slugger Sports Bar in Wrigleyville. "The last couple of years, there's been nothing to see.''
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