Iowa Really is Heaven: Yankees and Whites Sox to Play at Field of Dreams Movie Site
Updated: Aug 10, 2019
On August 13, 2020, the answer to the question, "Is this heaven" will be a resounding YES when the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox play a regular-season game at the site of the iconic Field of Dreams baseball diamond in Iowa.
MLB at Field of Dreams presented by GEICO will be nationally broadcast on FOX at 7 p.m. ET. with a limited number of lucky fans getting the chance to see it live at the site of the original movie field.
It's been 30 years since the film, starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones and Amy Madigan was released yet it seems it will live in our hearts and consciousness forever. The film's fictional writer, Terence Mann ( Jones), was right when he said, "People will come". Over 100,000 fans a year from all over the world flock to the real-life site in Dyersville, Iowa which is 90 miles north of Davenport and three hours northeast of Des Moines.
The studio constructed the field across two separate farms so the sunset shots, like the iconic one pictured above, would have a clear line-of-sight. After filming, the house and the baseball diamond (including the original bleachers), were converted into a tourist attraction by the Lansing family. In 1990 a neighboring farmer, Ken Rahe, put together a team dubbed the 'ghost players' to suit up and play games on the diamond. The game is still going strong today as The Ghost Sunday Show.
In addition to the ghost players game, charity events and games are held regularly. Over the years hall of famers like Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson and Bob Feller have suited up to play on the Field of Dreams diamond.
In order to make the site major league ready, a temporary 8,000-seat ballpark will be constructed in the corn on the Dyersville farm site for the August 2020 Yankees/White Sox game. The right-field wall will include windows to show the cornfields beyond the ballpark, which will overlook the movie set (see model above). As a fitting tribute, the design of the ballpark, shape of the outfield and the bullpens beyond the center-field fence will resemble Comiskey Park, home of the White Sox from 1910-90. In the film, Shoeless Joe Jackson, played by Ray Liotta, asked the question, "Is this Heaven," referring to the Iowa baseball field. Jackson was one of eight players on the 1919 Chicago White Sox team banned from baseball after an infamous scandal dubbed "The Black Sox".
Simulating the ghost players journey from heaven onto the field of dreams, fans will walk along a pathway through a cornfield to get to the stadium. Before the corn clears, the original diamond is illuminated sparkling in the distance.
The Field of Dreams Movie Site is open daily 9am-6pm April 1 - Oct 31 (with later hours in July & August. They offer 30-minute live guided tours of the home seven days a week all year round. There is an onsite gift shop which currently has 30th anniversary merchandise that you can buy online. Fans can now spend the night in the farmhouse's one bedroom rental and enjoy the “Kinsella Experience," but book early as it sells out fast. The Ghost Sunday Show is a 90-minute, family-friendly comedy routine running at 1pm every other Sunday from Independence Day weekend through August. The show is free with VIP tickets available for purchase giving you special access to tour the house, reserved seats, food and beverages and discounts at the gift shop.
For more information on visiting the Field of Dreams Movie site visit fieldofdreamsmoviesite.com
Information on limited ticket availability MLB at Field of Dreams presented by GEICO game on August 13, will be made announced in the months ahead. Follow Film Travelers Instagram for updates.