The Miller Park roof needs a $1 million repair to replace a balky bearing
The Miller Park roof needs a $1 million repair — replacement of a noisy bearing — that will be conducted after the Milwaukee Brewers baseball season ends.
It's a small but crucial piece of maintenance for the 12,000-ton structure that has five enormous moving panels. The bearing is one of 80 that help the roof open and close smoothly, said Mike Duckett, executive director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District.
It's the first noteworthy repair project to be done on the roof since 2006 when new machinery was installed to move the panels.
The work was authorized Tuesday by two committees of the stadium district board.
"The roof repairs are not significant, but they are noteworthy — and preventative in nature," Duckett said.
"The wheel bearing has not yet failed, but has been emitting a noise that the bearing manufacturer and the district’s mechanical engineers cannot determine a reason for," Duckett said.
"The district’s engineering team has recommended a proactive replacement of the wheel bearing, which will then be studied to determine any possible cause of the noise."
The work will be paid through a reserve fund maintained by the stadium district. The stadium district and the Brewers each contribute to the fund.
Workers will jack up the roof to remove its weight from the driver truck so that the bearing can be removed, Duckett said. The process should take three or four days.
The work will begin once the final Brewers game of the season is played and after the Ed Sheeran concert scheduled for Oct. 23.
"Weather is not a big factor for the minor wheel bearing replacement project," Duckett said.
Miller Park opened in 2001 and the roof has been credited with helping the Brewers boost their box office by some 1 million additional fans per year, on average, compared with County Stadium.
RELATED:Miller Park roof delivers comfort for fans, pays dividends at the Brewers box office
Last year, nearly 2.6 million fans attended Brewers games, and the team is on track to surpass 2.8 million this year.
Construction of the stadium was funded by a 0.1% sales tax paid by residents of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, Waukesha and Racine counties. The sales tax has been in effect since 1996 and officials believe it can be retired by late 2019 or early 2020.
The Brewers have at least two home games remaining this season. The team plays the Colorado Rockies in the first game of the National League Division Series Thursday afternoon.