We reported on this possibility last year, and it’s gotten to the point where MLB officials were in Evansville to scout out Bosse Field, home of the Evansville Otters (Frontier League) and A League of Their Own filming location, to host an MLB exhibition game.
Here’s what we wrote last December:
We know there have been discussions about a similar signature game at Bosse Field, home of the Evansville Otters (Frontier League). Bosse Field formerly hosted Triple-A baseball as well–our Jesse Goldberg-Strassler profiled the venue here–but interest in Bosse Field comes from another notable event in its history: Historic Bosse Field was cast in A League of Their Own as the home of the Racine (WI) Belles, hosting the AAGPBL Championship Series between the Belles and the protagonist Rockford Peaches, managed by Tom Hanks’ archetypal amalgam, “Jimmy Dugan.” That film was released in 1992, and a signature event marking the 30th anniversary of a much-beloved movie sounds like part of the formula making the Field of Dreams movie a success. There’s also plenty of charm associated with Bosse Field, which opened on June 17, 1915.
Announcing Bosse Field as a future MLB exhibition game site would be a perfect tie-in during next week’s Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, but we’re told the game wouldn’t take place until 2024 at the earliest. The Field of Dreams branding will not be applied to future exhibition games, we’re told, but the spirit of the FoD experience would be carried out in future exhibitions.
Holding a modern MLB event will require some ballpark upgrades on the player side, and we’re guessing there will be some upgrades on the fan side as well. The biggest need will be a reconfiguration of the playing field with a new turf and likely some upgrades to the watering/irrigation system. There is talk about moving the dugouts as well.
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