Four hours. Twenty-plus trucks. One dock. Arena dock masters who still run that puzzle on a whiteboard watch union clocks bleed money while AV waits for staging that is still stuck on the street.
The math of staggered capacity
Four hours and one dock position only work if arrivals are sequenced and enforced. Parallel gates multiply capacity. Without capacity limits, everyone still aims for the first opening and recreates gridlock — the same failure mode as a shared spreadsheet.
Protect union labor from idle time
Crews paid to unload should not wait on trucks that never had a real slot. Publish windows vendors must book against, then verify arrivals so the next call sheet stays honest.
Sequence staging before AV
Separate calendars for freight, staging, and show-critical AV prevent a catering truck from blocking a video wall delivery. Build, show, and strike phases each need their own arrival logic.
Running a festival or arena load-in next month? Do not force independent vendors through a two-week enterprise onboarding portal. See self-serve plans at gatebooker.com/pricing — or join the waitlist at gatebooker.com/pricing#waitlist while Gate Booker launches.