Marketing is another reason. When it is admitted that County Stadium will survive into 2000, the Brewers lose their primary marketing peg for the end of this year. For them, the longer the obvious can be officially avoided, the better. Finally, when the old deadline is abandoned, a new deadline must be set. And that is the biggest pitfall of all.
Deadlines are useful things that focus the mind.
But when they become ends in themselves, sloppy work can result. So the new deadline for Miller Park needs to be mindful of the constant tension among cost, safety and schedule. Tragedy might be compounded if the new deadline puts unwarranted stress on cost, or on letting the Brewers tap the new revenue streams, or on soothing civic pride. Now is the time to err on the side of caution, to put away macho notions of blindly surmounting challenge and to maturely learn from failure without pointing fingers. Miller Park's new schedule should have a lot of give.