Field of Dreams
2012 view of the film set field, house and barn
Field of Dreams is located in Iowa
Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams
Location in Iowa
Field of Dreams is located in the United States
Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams
Location in the United States
AddressField of Dreams Way
LocationDyersville, Iowa
Coordinates42°29′52″N 91°03′18″W / 42.49778°N 91.05500°W / 42.49778; -91.05500
OwnerGo the Distance Baseball (since 2012)
SurfaceGrass
Opened1988 (1988)

Field of Dreams is a baseball field and pop-culture tourist attraction built for the 1989 movie of the same name. It is located in Dyersville, Iowa, within Dubuque County.

Site history

Universal Pictures built the baseball diamond in 1988 on two farms a few miles outside Dyersville, Iowa, for the 1989 film Field of Dreams. When production completed, the baseball diamond created for the movie was left behind. Most of the baseball field, including the diamond and the adjacent house, was on a farm owned by the Lansing family, but the left and center field were on an adjacent property owned by the Ameskamp family. The field was built across the two properties because the producers wanted to place the field in a location where sunset shots would have a clear line-of-sight.

After filming completed, the Lansing family kept their portion of the field intact and added a small hut where visitors could buy souvenirs. The Ameskamp family returned their land to farming for a year, but then restored the remainder of the field and opened up their own souvenir stand. The two owners had operated separate tourist facilities and had also been at odds regarding commercialization of the site.

In 1990, Keith Rahe, a neighboring farmer, put together a baseball team dubbed the "Ghost Players" to entertain the visitors at the field.[1] The team's presence at the field on Sunday afternoons once a month attracted thousands of additional fans to the field. In 1991 and 1992, the Upper Deck Company sponsored a celebrity game at the field. Executive producer Tony Loiacono, who later received the key to the city, brought Hall of Famers like Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson and Bob Feller to take on Hollywood stars like Kelsey Grammer and Meat Loaf in a charity game. The two games raised over $100,000 for local charities.

A 2002 book by author Brett H. Mandel – Is This Heaven? The Magic of the Field of Dreams – chronicles the story of how the once make-believe location has been turned into a real and tangible place that beckons people from across the world. The book, which has also been translated into Japanese, "offers readers a glimpse of this slice of heaven here on Earth and shows how it continues to affect people who step between the chalk lines."[2]

Rolling Roadshow

The Kevin Costner Band

On August 11, 2006, Austin, Texas' Alamo Drafthouse "Rolling Roadshow" (which screens films in locations unique to each film) showed Field of Dreams at the Field of Dreams site in Dyersville. A giant, outdoor screen was set up adjacent to the field with seating, concession, and parking along left and center field. Only the property owned by the Ameskamp family was allowed to be used for this event; the Lansing property was closed to the public. Before the screening of the film, Kevin Costner and his band (unnamed at the time, now known as Kevin Costner and Modern West) performed for two hours for the attending crowd of close to 1,000 people. Costner and his band played a selection of original songs and popular covers, including a song about Iowa that he wrote during the filming of Field of Dreams 17 years earlier. The event was sponsored by a DVD rental company and hosted by Lisa Loeb.

Consolidation of land and Go the Distance operation

In August 2007, Rita Ameskamp sold the land containing her portion of the baseball field to Don and Becky Lansing – the owners of the remainder of the field. As a result, the movie site was, for the first time, entirely owned by the Lansing family.[3] On May 13, 2010, the Lansings announced they were putting the farm used for the movie up for sale.[4] On October 30, 2011, it was reported that a sale had been agreed upon with a private partnership called Go the Distance Baseball,[5] who has owned and preserved the movie site since December 28, 2012.

Under Go the Distance, new events have been held at the venue. The Ghost Players returned in 2013. Over Father's Day weekend 2014, the field was home to a series of events to commemorate its 25th anniversary, including an exhibition game featuring Kevin Costner, Dwier Brown and others.[6] The events drew an estimated 12,000 fans.[7]

Under new ownership, visitor traffic has increased from 65,000 to 100,000 visitors per year, according to Go the Distance.[8] Additionally, in March 2018, Go the Distance began renting the house and ballfield to tourists at a cost of $2,200 per night on weekdays and $2,500 per night on weekends.[9]

Additional development

Not long after buying the movie site, Go the Distance Baseball announced plans for a 24-field youth baseball and softball complex known as All-Star Ballpark Heaven. The project was initially intended to open in 2014, coinciding with the film's 25th anniversary, but confronted difficulties finding funding and legal action from neighboring property owners, who objected to the commercial re-zoning of the site.[8] Additionally, the cost has ballooned from the initially proposed $38 million to more than $70 million; while the Iowa state legislature passed a tax incentive for the project, developers failed to meet deadlines to secure it.

On September 30, 2021, Go The Distance Baseball announced in a press release that Frank Thomas purchased a controlling interest in Go The Distance Baseball LLC.[10][11]

MLB at Field of Dreams

Major League Baseball (MLB) planned for a 2020 regular-season game to be held at a temporary facility constructed at a distance of approximately 500 ft (150 m) in the cornfields.[12] The contest was originally scheduled for August 13, 2020, between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees.[13] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the game was rescheduled to August 12, 2021.[14] The game resulted in a 9–8 win by the White Sox over the Yankees.[15] After the game drew the highest regular season ratings in 16 years, MLB announced it would return the following year for a contest between the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs.[16] However, Frank Thomas later indicated that no game will be played in 2023 because of the upcoming construction that is scheduled to take place on the site, although there is a possibility of MLB resuming the series in future seasons.[17]

MLB The Show has delivered an interactive version of the Field of Dreams in MLB The Show 21, including dynamic cornfields that can be placed at will by the user.

Dimensions and capacity

The original movie set ballpark is 281 feet (85.6 m) to left field, 314 feet (95.7 m) to center and 262 feet (79.9 m) to right field, with 300 ft (91.4 m) to the power alleys. With additional temporary bleachers, the venue held nearly 6,000 spectators for the 2013 Team of Dreams celebrity game.

References

  1. ↑ "Rahe earns lifetime achievement award". Dyersville Commercial.
  2. ↑ Mandel, Brett H. (2002). Is This Heaven?: The Magic of the Field of Dreams. Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 978-1888698411. Retrieved July 10, 2021 – via Amazon.
  3. ↑ Hogstrom, Erik (August 18, 2007). "Field of Dreams sold". Telegraph Herald. Left & Center. Woodward Communications, Inc. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  4. ↑ "For sale: Field of Dreams farm". Associated Press. May 13, 2010.
  5. ↑ Dodd, Mike (October 30, 2011). "Field of Dreams movie site in Iowa is sold". USA Today.
  6. ↑ Munson, Kyle (June 14, 2014). "Cast, fans gather again at Field of Dreams". Des Moines Register / USA Today. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  7. ↑ Munson, Kyle (June 13, 2014). "Field of Dreams: Kevin Costner, other stars reminisce". Des Moines Register. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  8. 1 2 Kruse, John (March 20, 2016). "Heaven still waits". Telegraph Herald. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  9. ↑ Kruse, John (March 8, 2018). "For rent: Tourists now can book iconic Field of Dreams ballfield, home". Telegraph Herald. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  10. ↑ Marchese, Tony (September 30, 2021). "Frank Thomas Purchases Controlling Stake in Field of Dreams Movie Site". On Tap Sports Net. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  11. ↑ Associated Press staff (September 30, 2021). Frank Thomas heads group that buys Field of Dreams site. Associated Press. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  12. ↑ Castrovince, Anthony (August 8, 2019). "Field of Dreams FAQ: Tickets and other details". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  13. ↑ Castrovince, Anthony (August 8, 2019). "Yanks, White Sox to play at 'Field of Dreams'". MLB.com. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  14. ↑ Harrigan, Thomas (November 23, 2020). "Field of Dreams game set for Aug. 12, 2021". MLB.com. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  15. ↑ Evans, Kyle (August 13, 2021). "Yankees rally late, then blow slugfest to White Sox in Field of Dreams game". Fingerlakes1.com. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  16. ↑ "'Field of Dreams' sequel between Cubs, Reds is official". Sportsnaut. August 20, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  17. ↑ "'MLB Won't Return to Field of Dreams in 2023 Due to Construction, Owner Frank Thomas Says'". Yahoo Sports. August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
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