All photos © Steven Cukrov | Dreamstime.com
Remember when the Field of Dreams movie site was little more than a tourist destination in the middle of a Dyersville, Iowa, cornfield? Nearly 40 years after the 1989 film starring Kevin Costner as a struggling farmer who builds a baseball field that attracts the ghosts of baseball legends, the land is wholly emerging as a versatile sports tourism destination.
As KCRG reported in May, the site received a $13 million boost in private and public investments to help complete a professional ballpark and a year-round youth sports complex on the expansive site.
Major League Baseball will return for the third time on Aug. 13 with a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins. The site also will host Velocity Fest, a Labor Day weekend concert event featuring three days of music headlined by Shinedown, Carrie Underwood and Creed; welcome the Northwoods League All-Star Game in July; and showcase eastern Iowa high school baseball teams during June’s “If You Build It” High School Series.
All told, according to KCRG, events scheduled at the site this summer are expected to generate at least $40 million in economic impact. “That kind of makes me shiver all over, I got to be honest with you,” Keith Rahe, Travel Dubuque’s president and CEO., told KCRG. “This gives us the ability to grow, but still maintain that rural atmosphere that makes the Field of Dreams the magic that it is.”
Let’s break down some of the major events happening at the site this summer:
MLB’s return will mark the first Major League game at the site since 2022, when the designated venue was still a temporary ballpark.
This is a big deal, as the inaugural edition of “MLB at Field of Dreams” in 2021, featuring the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees, was named “Sports Event of the Year” by Sports Business Journal and earned FOX Sports a Sports Emmy for “Outstanding Live Special.” Chicago won, 9-8, on a walk-off home run, helping propel the game to baseball’s most-watched regular-season game on any network in 16 years.
“Iowa is thrilled to welcome MLB and its players back to the iconic Field of Dreams and a new permanent stadium for one of America’s favorite baseball traditions,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement. “Set against a backdrop of rolling cornfields and a star-filled summer sky, this is an event unlike any other. We’re incredibly proud to host fans from across the country and around the world for a game they’ll never forget and an opportunity to experience everything that makes our state so special.”
On August 11, two days before the MLB showdown, the Iowa Cubs (Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs) will host the St. Paul Saints (Triple-A affiliate of the Twins) at the Field of Dreams stadium — marking the second Minor League Baseball game played at the iconic. The first was held in August 2022.
The Northwoods League is bringing its All-Star Game to Dyersville this summer because the Field of Dreams will be home to the league’s newest team beginning in 2027.
The Northwoods League is the largest organized collegiate baseball league in the country, with 26 teams, and has established itself as the premier development circuit for elite college baseball players. Nearly 2,400 league alumni have been drafted, and more than 410 have gone on to play in Major League Baseball. The league is known for creating a welcoming, family-friendly ballpark experience.
“There is no place in baseball quite like the Field of Dreams. For our players, coaches and fans, getting to be part of that story is something truly unique,” Chris Goodell, co-owner of the new yet-to-be-named Dyersville team, said in a statement. “The Northwoods League has always believed that baseball is best experienced in a setting that brings people together, and Field of Dreams Ballpark is exactly that kind of place. We are proud to plant our flag here and build a team that this community can call its own.”
The “If You Build It” High School Series, slated for June 17-26, is expected to be the first event hosted at the new permanent ballpark and will feature a dozen teams.
In many cases, both varsity and junior varsity squads will take the field. “Those parents are probably telling those kids, ‘Boy, I remember playing catch with my mom or dad,’ or, ‘I remember watching that movie.’’ Tyler Daugherty, Field of Dreams Ballpark general manager, told KCRG.
The permanent Field of Dreams ballpark is expected to accommodate about 4,000 fans and can be expanded for larger events, like MLB games, according to BallparkDigest.com. When all is said and done, the youth sports complex is expected to have 10 fields, up from the current four. The Field of Dreams Movie Site, as the entire property is called, is owned and operated by Dyersville Events Inc.
In the Field of Dreams movie, the ghosts of baseball players past (including “Shoeless Joe” Jackson) emerged from a cornfield lining the outfield. “Our corn is the star of the Field of Dreams, planted and harvested according to what is best for the success of the crop,” according to the Dyersville Events’ website. “We cannot guarantee the presence of corn at the beginning or at the end of our season.”
Still, what a season it’s shaping up to be…
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