For Racine County businesses, Miller Park was about the equivalent of a four-run inning.
It didn't guarantee a win, but it was a nice shot in the arm.
The new Milwaukee Brewers' stadium, last estimated to cost $394 million, provided a total of about $11 million to several Racine County firms. Thus, in the overall picture, the park sent just a small fraction of its business southward to Racine County firms.
But it was a significant job to a few companies. Their labors became an integral part of the Brewers' new home - from the way it works to the way it looks, and from construction to demolition.
Moreover, helping to build Miller Park has been a matter of pride, several executives said.
"It's a very impressive stadium and something the people of Wisconsin and the counties surrounding Milwaukee should be very proud of," said Emil Ruffalo, president of Advance Mechanical, 1500 Durand Ave.
Advance was the contractor for all the plumbing work inside the stadium, with the largest contract of any Racine County company at more than $5.2 million.
"If you want to flush a toilet on Opening Day, you can thank us," Al Koch, chief engineer for Advance, once remarked.
Advance installed an estimated 180,000 linear feet of copper, cast iron and plastic pipe, Ruffalo said. "And each is a system by itself."
The job entailed the installation of more than 2,000 toilets, sinks and urinals, setting up plumbing for 54 concession stands, 72 suites and "many, many hot-water heaters," Ruffalo said.
As the plumbing contractor, Advance in turn brought in subcontractors, including Jaramillo Contractors Inc. of 4709 Highway H. That created approximately $625,000 in work, said company owner Francisco Jaramillo.
His firm also helped deconstruct the old County Stadium, as a subcontractor to the demolition general contractor. However, the local company's role was drastically reduced when wrecking crews encountered asbestos in the roof and basement, Jaramillo said. That has put the job in the hands of specialists.
Because of that, the demolition work brought the Racine County firm about $150,000 instead of the originally hoped for $540,000, Jaramillo said.
"No big deal," he said lightly. "We went to get some work, we got some more work."
Unlike Advance Mechanical, a company whose stadium work is mostly hidden from view as a network of piping, the work of Color Arts in Miller Park is as plain as a picture.
Color Arts, 1840 Oakdale Ave., printed the novelty murals and signage for the restaurants. That totaled more than 30 items in all and about $100,000 worth of work.
The murals, based on the theme "Home to Heroes," can be seen along hallways and entrances. They depict Wisconsin's tradition of industry, recreation and baseball, and the largest are eight by 24 feet, said Jim O'Donnell, president of Color Arts.
"We were flattered, of course," he said. "We're proud to have been involved, and it led us to another project," printing the graphics for the new baseball stadium in Pittsburgh.
Another Racine County firm with a million-dollar-plus contract was Nielsen Building Systems, 4820 6 Mile Road. Nielsen had a $3.6 million contract to supply the translucent, lightweight Kalwall panels used for the canopies, outfield walls and crescent walls. That meant overseeing their installation as well, and the construction of two moveable outfield walls.
The dimensions are impressive. The five outfield walls are 140 feet wide and 72 feet tall, and two are operable; they will be closed at times to keep the park warm, and opened at other times to let fresh air move through the stadium.
The crescent areas above first and third base are 550 feet long and 22 feet high. And the eight canopies which grace the exterior are each about 30 feet wide and jut out about 16 feet.
The complexity of the enormous project dictated a certain order to everything that went on there. That kind of coordination was a continual challenge, said Dale Nielsen, vice president of sales and marketing at the family business.
"We would be starting and stopping on the basis of other trades," he said. In fact, the Caledonia firm was one of the last on site. Even in the past few days, it was still overseeing the mounting of canopies.
Throughout its part in Miller Park, Nielsen had its own project manager, Babe Winkelmann, with his own construction trailer, on site. Winkelmann's trailer became famous among the large construction community for his Friday noon-hour cookouts. Sometimes it was barbecued chicken, other times bratwurst, sometimes fish caught in the Milwaukee River.
The kind of camaraderie that developed meant that workers from different trades helped each other, loaned equipment when needed. Also, "We made sure we always fed the safety director," Winkelmann quipped.
Cookouts or no cookouts, the project took years, and Nielsen said he was looking forward to entering the park in a new role and new garb."It's sure going to be nice," he said, "walking into Miller Park and not wearing a hard hat."