A little competition has already saved a lot of money at Great American Ball Park.

        Construction managers last month rejected a $59.4 million bid for the concrete work at the Reds' new stadium because it was more than $17 million over the estimated cost. Instead, they decided to break the contract into smaller parts so more companies would bid.

        Bids for the first two smaller contracts were opened Thursday, coming in a combined $1.78 million below the estimated cost.

        “See what a little competition can do?” said Arnie Rosenberg, project manager for Parsons Brinckerhoff, Ohio. “This is the kind of action we were looking for.”

        The bigger of the two contracts is for so-called pile caps and tie beams.

        Pile caps are concrete pieces that bind together bundles of pilings, which will support the new stadium's foundation. The caps distribute the weight of the structure evenly among the piles, which are drilled into bedrock. The tie beams bind the caps.

        Construction Manager Huber Hunt Nichols estimat ed the cost of the caps and tie beams at $4.3 million. BDK Joint Venture, a combination of Baker, Dugan & Meyers and Kokosing construction companies, submitted the low bid at $2.8 million.

        BDK Venture submitted the initial bid that was $17 million over budget.

        “It's a good result,” said Mike Sieving, the county's construction executive. “But we've got a long way to go.”

        BDK Venture also submitted the low bid for a second concrete contract to build temporary roads. Its bid of $279,000 was well below the estimate of $550,000.

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