How do you plan restrooms for CMA Fest in Nashville?

What was the festival's scale?

The organizer's press release put attendance at 95,000 fans over four days, June 5 to 8, 2025, with more than 300 performances.

Those are the organizer's figures, and this page quotes them as such. They are a reasonable starting point for planning, but the actual crowd on each day should be checked against the festival's own announcements.

The festival's grounds sit downtown, around the stadium and the amphitheater, so the crowd moves through the same blocks as the city's everyday traffic.

Where should the clusters go?

At each gathering point: the stages, the food areas, the gates and the busy corners where people wait between sets.

A four-day festival repeats the same clusters, but the crowd builds through the week. Each gathering point needs a cluster sized for the people who stop there, and the clusters should be reachable from the crowd without crossing the main walk.

Clusters should not block the emergency route or the stage access. A cluster at a gate is useful for arrival and departure, but it does not replace clusters inside the grounds.

• Stage fronts, set back so people can leave without crossing the crowd
• Food areas, with a handwash station beside them
• Each main gate, sized for arrival and departure waves
• Busy corners where people wait between sets

How many units and when should they be serviced?

The operator sets the count for each cluster from the expected crowd there, the length of the day and whether food and alcohol are served. Servicing is set for each day, with extra visits before the headline sets and in the heat.

No Metro figure per attendee is published in the sources this page relies on, so the count is worked out for each cluster and recorded with its reasons.

The peak day sets the count, and the quieter days are covered by a servicing schedule that keeps the units usable. A visit before the headline set is the one most often missed.

What goes on the layout map?

The portable toilets, tents, ramps and companion seating, as Metro's application asks, with the clusters, the accessible units and the closures drawn on one map.

The map is the reviewer's main picture. The accessible units sit with their firm routes, the emergency access is kept open, and the service routes are shown so the reviewer can see the grounds can be serviced.

The accessible share follows Metro's application, which sets at least 5% rounded up and is dated 2017, so the office should confirm the current form before the plan is filed.

How do the permits cover the streets?

The festival's event permit covers the streets it uses, and the closures and the units on those streets are shown on the same plan.

Metro says a special event permit is generally required for an event with street closures, sales, large tents or portable toilets for public use. The Office of Film and Special Events handles permitting for events in Davidson County.

The stadium and the amphitheater have their own arrangements, which the provider confirms, and the street units are shown on the event's own plan.

What happens after the last day?

The units are collected once the streets reopen, and the surfaces and the route are checked for damage before the truck leaves.

The pickup is planned for the first morning after the closure lifts, so the streets are not blocked for longer than the permit allows.

A short debrief with the provider, looking at where the clusters ran short or stood empty, sets up the count for next year's festival.

How do the stadium and the amphitheater fit into the plan?

The venues have their own arrangements for their grounds, and the festival's street and approach clusters are planned around them. The provider confirms which arrangement covers which area before the layout is filed.

Clusters for the approaches to the venue are part of the festival's responsibility under the permit, even where the venue itself has its own facilities.

The crowds at the gates are planned together with the venue's own crowd management, so the clusters do not compete for the same pavement.

How do you plan servicing day by day?

Each festival day has its own servicing schedule, with visits before the crowd builds, at the peak, and after the day's last set. The schedule is written day by day rather than as one plan for all four days.

A day with a headline set needs a visit timed just before it, since the crowd for that set concentrates in one area for an hour or two.

Heat and wet weather change the schedule on the day, and the provider is told of any forecast change so visits can be added.

How do you plan the first and last hours of a festival day?

The first hour sees the crowd arrive in a rush, and the last hour sees it leave in a rush. Both need a unit that is clean and stocked, with a visit timed just before each.

A visit before the gates open is the one that prevents the first queue. A visit after the last set is the one that prevents the next morning's complaints.

Crews should be briefed on the route into each cluster, so they reach the units quickly when the crowd arrives.

How do you deal with a crowd that stays late?

A crowd that stays after the headline set uses the units at a steady rate, and the servicing is set for that tail rather than only for the peak.

Keep the clusters lit for the late hours and check the lighting before the event. A dark unit is one that is not used, and that pushes the crowd into a doorway.

A late visit is agreed with the provider for the final night, and the pickup for the morning is set on the same plan.

How do you brief the crews before the festival?

Each crew is shown the layout map, the cluster numbers, the accessible units and the route to each, and is told who to call when a unit needs a visit.

A short walk of the grounds with the crew lead, using the map, is the most useful briefing. The lead can then pass the same route to each crew member.

Keep the contact sheet at the cluster's location for the crowd's stewards, with the number to call for an extra visit or a move.

What about the festival's neighbors and businesses?

The businesses along the festival streets are told where the clusters stand and when they will be serviced. A short notice before the festival starts reduces complaints on the day.

A clear line on the notice, giving the number to call, lets a business ask for a visit or a move without going through the crowd.

The notice is sent with the closure details, so the businesses see the restroom plan alongside the street plan.