Ahead of an August MLB regular-season game at the Field of Dreams site in Dyserville, IA, local tourism officials anticipate the event will draw a plenty of visitors.
On August 13, the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees will square off in a regular-season game at the Field of Dreams site, bringing major-league action to the filming location of one the most beloved baseball films ever made. MLB announced plans for the game at the production site of Field of Dreams last summer, and anticipation has been building ever since.
In Iowa, local tourism officials are expecting that the game will draw plenty of visitors from outside the region, with the first MLB regular-season game at the site–and the first throughout the state–expected to generate plenty of fanfare. This should result in a noticable uptick in activity at area hotels and restaurants, something that those in the region are preparing for with the game about six months away. More from KCRG:
Keith Rahe, president and CEO of Travel Dubuque, said the tourism boom Dubuque will get from the game is incomparable to anything else.
“As an organization, as a destination marketing organization, and this area, you can’t put a price tag on the brand and the recognition that we’re getting with this event,” Rahe said.
Rahe and Travel Dubuque have been prepping for the big day for months. Rahe said it is a project that will come together over a culmination of a lot of time.
“It’s a work in progress,” Rahe said.
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 was 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 will include the playing field, temporary facilities, and infrastructure needed to host an MLB regular-season game that is being nationally televised on FOX. It will technically be a home game for the White Sox.
Field of Dreams, the big-screen adaption of the W.P. Kinsella novel Shoeless Joe, was released to acclaim in 1989 with a cast that included stars Kevin Costner, Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones, and Amy Madigan. It has remained popular with baseball and movie fans alike, and a field has been left intact at the production site, allowing it to becoming a sought-out tourist destination.
Rendering courtesy MLB.