MILWAUKEE -- There's no proper name for those dollops of gum and tar that collect on sidewalks and pavement, where they flatten and turn black after being walked upon by thousands of pairs of feet.

	Ashley Dzikowich, 11, of Sun Prairie, Wis., waits out the final game of the season between Milwaukee and Cincinnati.

Hundreds of those black spots adorn the concrete walkways and underground passageways of Milwaukee County Stadium. Sometimes, it seems they're the only things holding together the creaky, smelly building that opened in 1953 and was scheduled for demolition this winter.

Sunday was supposed to be County Stadium's final day of life.

Miller Park, half-completed behind the old outfield bleachers, was supposed to open in April 2000 and usher the Brewers into prosperity and change in the new century, freeing the franchise from the stigma of playing in one of the league's oldest, most outdated stadiums.

"This place has memories for a lot of people, but they're not because of the stadium," said 71-year-old Brewers fan Harold Moss. "The memories are for the baseball that was played here. It's like Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Not many people will miss County Stadium when it's gone."

The collapse of a 1,400-ton crane and the deaths of three workers at the Miller Park construction site in July changed everything. The resulting cleanups and delays prevented the stadium builders, already on a tight schedule, from having a chance to open the new stadium on time.

Last month, the team made it official: The Brewers and their fans were sentenced to one more year in County.

As generations of Wisconsin baseball fans already know, conditions and amenities at County Stadium have never been great -- and since the Brewers expected this to be their last season in the building, the stadium's caretakers left undone many maintenance tasks.

Unpainted seats were left unpainted. Plumbing and wiring were checked but not replaced. Lines for concession stands and restrooms remained as long as ever.

"You could tell they really gave up on this place," said Brewers fan Joyce Carvalo of Greenfield. "It was never that nice, but now it's really gone to hell."

Sunday's final game was a sellout well before the accident.

Now, with the stadium staying open another year, those tickets became ordinary. The Brewers guaranteed purchasers the chance to buy seats for next season's actual final game, and fans can exchange their tickets for a brick from County Stadium when it's demolished.

Perhaps fittingly, the bad weather that prompted the Brewers to build a retractable-roof stadium surfaced again Sunday. A steady all-day downpour greeted the portion of the sellout crowd that actually came to the park.

When the 3:05 p.m. CT start time was delayed by sheets of rain, some fans left -- but some stayed, stubbornly watching the rain fall on the tarpaulin covering the infield.

Since the Brewers' opponents, the Cincinnati Reds, were in contention for a playoff berth -- and since the Brewers couldn't really afford to return the revenue generated by a sellout -- the teams were determined to play, no matter how long they had to wait. When the game began after a wait of 5 hours, 47 minutes, only about 500 of the 55,000-plus who bought tickets were in the stands.

Cincinnati won 7-1, forcing a wild-card playoff against the New York Mets on Monday night.

"We've been waiting for years," said Darwin Benson, rain dripping from his mustache and the bill of his Brewers cap. "This is nothing."