In Japanese custom, it is very important, the toilets

Remember when the Seibu Lions received $51,111,111 from the Red Sox as part of the posting fee for Dice-K? 2 years later, NY Times investigated what they did with all that loot.

Whereas the old facilities were dingy concrete latrines, state-of-the-art urinals line the men’s rooms along with high-tech hand dryers built into the bright blue and white tile — the team colors. But the main attractions are the new toilets with TotTo’s Warmlet seats in stalls with floor-to-ceiling doors.

Each stall in the women’s bathrooms holds a Toto Washlet, a toilet and bidet in one unit. These $1,500 fixtures provide a luxurious experience for fans, who may spend their time in the restrooms contemplating the full extent of Matsuzaka’s legacy with the Lions.

“It looked like a women’s room in a nice hotel with the vanities and sinks,” said Tere Garcia-Pena, visiting from Manhattan with her husband, Miguel. “It was just so nice and clean, I felt like I just wanted to keep going in there.”

Takahashi, who studied English in Philadelphia and used to visit Veterans Stadium, said most of the money the Lions received from the Red Sox in January 2007 was used for the renovations the last two seasons.

Forty percent — more than $20 million — went to taxes. Of the rest, $25 million paid for stadium upgrades and $5 million was used to sign players who helped the Lions win the 2008 Japan Series.

Toilet statistics at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field

It must be a slow week at the Times. John Branch wrote about the number of women's and men's toilets at the new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. I was actually astounded by how few bathrooms there are for such a big stadium. So only 369 women's toilets were built for a stadium seating 52,325?

The new Yankee Stadium, with a capacity of 52,325, needed a minimum of 358 women’s toilets and 176 men’s fixtures, of which no more than half could be urinals, according to the city Department of Buildings.

Generally, once the minimum requirements are reached, the mix of toilets can be tailored to the building’s needs. Studies show that baseball crowds lean slightly male. Stadium builders tend to meet the requirements and add a bunch of urinals.

The Yankees and their architects, Populous (formerly HOK Sport Venue Event, which also designed Citi Field), gave Yankee Stadium 369 women’s toilets, and 98 toilets and 298 urinals for men, according to the buildings department. Another 78 fixtures are in unisex bathrooms, designed for families or in luxury suites.

Citi Field, with a capacity of about 45,000, was required to have 303 women’s toilets and 152 men’s fixtures. It was designed with 374 women’s toilets, and 111 toilets and 240 urinals for men.

At the new Meadowlands football stadium, where New Jersey dictates the use of the National Standard Plumbing Code, requirements called for at least 420 toilets for women and 277 fixtures for men.

[NY Times]

Picture from Flickr [Wallyg]