The enormous preparation getting WM Phoenix Open up and “swinging”

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) —If history means anything, then almost a million people are expected to attend the week-long Waste Management Phoenix Open. More than 130 professional golfers will play in the tournament, and the winner will walk away with $3.6 million.

But preparation for the event takes time. In fact, construction began on September 13, and two weeks later, tournament officials posted this time-lapse video showing the work in progress.

Fast forward to this week, and the tournament is set to begin with nearly 400,000 square feet of tent space available. That equates to 7 football fields, including the end zones. Nearly 700 skyboxes and suites have been erected, with more than 5,400 tables and almost 10,000 chairs and barstools all put in place.

With all the fans and so much beer being consumed, you have to have enough bathrooms. So, they’ve brought in more than 3,000 portable bathrooms, and then there’s something kind of new. There’s the 4-plex urinal. Don’t laugh. They are strategically placed to handle four guys at a time, speeding up the bathroom process.

And what would the tournament be without the 16th hole everyone seems to talk about? This is the infamous 16th hole here at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and it’s no doubt an intimidating hole. Can you imagine trying to tee off in front of 17,000 golf fans? Yeah, 17,000. That’s how many spectators the 16th hole can accommodate. And in the middle of it all, general admission seats for those not lucky enough to have a bird’s eye view from a suite.

If you don’t want to fight the crowd out here at the tournament, you don’t have to. You can always watch it on TV. In fact, an estimated 21 million people or more will watch the tournament.

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