Work is underway for 2020’s Field of Dreams MLB regular-season game, with plans taking shape for a temporary ballpark that will be constructed in the Dyersville, IA cornfield.
Earlier this month, MLB announced that the Chicago White Sox will host the New York Yankees in a regular-season game at the Field of Dreams site on August 13, 2020. Since that announcement was made, there has been considerable buzz surrounding the contest that will serve as an homage to the beloved 1989 baseball film. With a little less than a year remaining until the game will be played, planning to construct a temporary ballpark is underway.
The actual Field of Dreams playing surface on the site is far too small and not up to MLB standards, so a portion of the surrounding cornfield has been cleared to make way for the temporary facility that will host the White Sox and Yankees. In that space will rise an 8,000-seat venue, which include the playing field, temporary facilities, and infrastructure needed to host an MLB regular-season game that is being nationally televised. To execute this plan, BrightView Sports Turf president Murray Cook and his crew will focus on the playing field as BaAM Productions handles other areas. More from the Des Moines Register:
While Cook’s team concentrates on life between the baselines, the Toronto company BaAM Productions focus on everything else — from the restrooms and showers in the team clubhouses to the stands, fences, press box and bleachers.
BaAM has partnered with major sports for special events for years. They help the NHL put on its annual outdoor game, the Winter Classic. They worked with MLB on the Fort Bragg game….
The pieces to make the stadium are gathered from a variety of contractors, and the temporary field is assembled like a kind of giant Lego set.
BaAM has designed a temporary stadium for the Field of Dreams game with an eye toward preserving the “atmosphere of a Major League game without losing the sense of place,” said Annemarie Roe, BaAm president.
Current plans call for the move site to be lit so that it is visible during the game, with windows in the outfield wall to allow for views of the cornfield (the rendering shows the design concept). The game will be the first MLB regular-season contest played in the state of Iowa.
Rendering courtesy MLB.