New "Field of Dreams" complex

[Jim Crikket]

If you have never visited the site where the movie "Field of Dreams" was filmed, near Dyersville IA, you soon may have a new reason to visit... especially if you have kids who play baseball/softball.

 

Go the Distance Baseball, LLC has plans to build a $38 million youth baseball/softball complex at the Field of Dreams site that will include 24 new ballfields of varying types/sizes (in addition to the original field, of course).

 

The Dyersville City Council has approved a $5.1 million property tax rebate for Go the Distance Baseball, LLC, which is over and above a $16.6 million state sales tax rebate approved by the Iowa Legislature and Governor in April.

 

If that ghostly voice had told Ray Kinsella to build 25 fields in his cornfields, even Ray might have thought that was a little crazy.

 

The project is moving ahead, so I guess we'll soon find out just how true the "If you build it, they will come" thing is.

 

Here's the artist rendering from the organization's Facebook page:

 

[Twins Fan From Afar]

JC, thanks for the info. I could probably look this up, but may as well just ask you: Did they resolve the ownership issue that plagued this property for so many years? I remember going there, probably in 1997 or so, and there was a bitter dispute over 2 different owners of different parts of the field.

[Jim Crikket]

Yep, they got that worked out. One of them bought out the other. Since then, I think the site has changed hands at least once (maybe more). My understanding is that the current owners of the movie site are also behind Go the Distance Baseball LLC.

[Twins Fan From Afar]

Thanks, JC. I remember it being really disappointing that there was a land war going on! Glad it was worked out.

[righty8383]

When I played legion ball 11 years ago, we played in a tournament out in Dyersville. If I remember correctly it was a pretty rural area. We visited Field of Dreams and had to take a dirt road to get there. So, I can't help but wonder, who is gonna use all these fields? The idea seems pretty cool, but 25 fields...thats an awful lot.

[IdahoPilgrim]

Interesting news. I had the chance to visit the place in the mid 1990s, shortly after the film came out. I'm a little surprised (but glad) that it survived to the present day. I kind of assumed that, after the movie became less well known, that people would lose interest and it would fade away.

 

I was a seminary student at the time at the University of Dubuque, where some of the film was also shot. It's still kind of neat to watch the film and see some of the buildings I used to frequent during those years.

[Jim Crikket]

No way we in Iowa are going to let a line like, "Is this heaven?... No, it's Iowa," fade away!

 

I agree that the project seems pretty ambitious. I know when I was coaching kids in the 90's we would have loved to have just a nice 4-6 field complex that we didn't have to fight for time over with beer-league softball. I'm sure they'll draw decent numbers for weekend tournaments, but that's hardly a year-round activity in these parts. Then again, having taken my teams to Dyersville for tournaments many years, I know they do love their baseball there.

[lecroy24fan]

Maybe a Midwest League team will move there!

[Cody Christie]

I haven't been there in years. Now I might have a reason to go back.

[Thrylos]

This aerial mockup looks like one of those man-made island resorts in the Arabic Peninsula

 

$38 M investment? Wow.

[Jim Crikket]

This aerial mockup looks like one of those man-made island resorts in the Arabic Peninsula

 

$38 M investment? Wow.

 

See... I thought it looked like one of those deals where farmers claim aliens came down and made designs in their cornfields. Wouldn't it be great if it turned out there WAS life out there somewhere... AND they liked baseball!?

[IdahoPilgrim]

This aerial mockup looks like one of those man-made island resorts in the Arabic Peninsula

 

$38 M investment? Wow.

 

See... I thought it looked like one of those deals where farmers claim aliens came down and made designs in their cornfields. Wouldn't it be great if it turned out there WAS life out there somewhere... AND they liked baseball!?

 

Would you have to rename the World Series then?

[Jim Crikket]

This aerial mockup looks like one of those man-made island resorts in the Arabic Peninsula

 

$38 M investment? Wow.

 

See... I thought it looked like one of those deals where farmers claim aliens came down and made designs in their cornfields. Wouldn't it be great if it turned out there WAS life out there somewhere... AND they liked baseball!?

 

Would you have to rename the World Series then?

 

Yep. MLB would rename it the "Cosmic Series". Of course, they'd also just assume nobody else was as good at it as they are and wouldn't allow teams from other worlds to compete for the title... kinda like they do here on our "world".

[MWLFan]

Interesting. I live about a hour from there and do some shopping and stuff in Dubuque so we have taken quite a few trips to Dyersville to play on the field. I guess it is a real big gamble and the scale looks beyond the scope of Dyersville alone so they must be hoping for some use from the surrounding area cities, the promotion of this will be fun to see also.

 

That all being said it was always cool to roll in down that dirt road and see the house set in the cornfield with the field full of people, some playing, some watching and some just disappearing into the corn. Probably will lose some of that magic imagined in the movie as it becomes less Iowa and more Disney.

 

Good luck to them though.

[Jim Crikket]

It's official. The site was sold last week and one of the investors is Hall of Famer Wade Boggs.

 

Sounds like many of the neighbors tried stopping the deal via the courts but to no avail.

 

Field of Reality: Sale complete - Dyersville Commercial: News