RICHMOND, Va. -- Saturday night was supposed to be a night of fun and excitement at a Rascal Flatts concert at Richmond's Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center.
But for many fans, it was a disaster as the venue only had 16 porta-potties to service the 4,000-plus fans in attendance.
"Everybody was frustrated even Rascal Flatts said something," Bridgette Rappe, who attended the concert, said. "We left we didn't stay for the rest of the concert."
Joe St. George reports some frustrated fans jumped a fence and went into the nearby woods to take care of business.
Rappe described the scene as chaos with fans urinating on the side of hills, fences and running into a woods, in effect trespassing on state property.
"My husband went over the fence," Rappe explained.
At one point, even Rascal Flatts made a comment from the stage asking those in line for the bathroom to sing along.
CBS 6 asked the concert's organizer, SMG Richmond, what went wrong.
"We thought that was going to be enough," SMG Richmond Marketing Director Jackie Knight told CBS 6 reporter Joe St. George.
Knight encouraged frustrated fans to contact her, but reiterated "we can't do refunds."
Knight, who promised the next time a concert is held at the site they will be more prepared. Knight emphasized this was the first time the venue was used for an event like this.
Businesses nearby are hoping more concerts come to the venue.
Fat Dragon employee Ben Rosner said the event brought in new customers.
Here is the full statement CBS 6 received from SMG:
In regard to the show, This was as with any first-time event, you observe, listen and learn and then you plan better for the future. In this instance, this was the first concert at Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center and an event that spanned almost six hours. We had 16 facilities on site which based on calculations from our staff and the porta-john rental company should have sufficed based on attendance however it did not. We heard our patrons loud and clear and appreciate the feedback we received. We will make sure that enough bathrooms are available as well as consider more options for parking, shuttles and additional food and drink vendors in the future. Overall, the event was a success, the weather was perfect and the music was fantastic.
