A group led by White Sox Hall of Famer Frank Thomas has purchased a controlling interest in the iconic Field of Dreams Movie Site and All-Star Ballpark Heaven in Dyersville, IA.
Thomas will serve as chief executive officer and industry veteran Dan Evans will serve as chief operating officer. Evans, former general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has previously served as a consultant to Go the Distance Baseball.
Specifically, the transaction involves the purchase of all the interests in Go the Distance Baseball owned by the Denise M. Stillman Trust by This is Heaven, LLC, a venture between Thomas and Rick Heidner, a Chicago-area real-estate developer and entrepreneur. Heidner was an original investor in Go the Distance Baseball and retains his original minority investment.
Go the Distance Baseball is a real estate development company established a decade ago to preserve the Field of Dreams Movie Site farm as a baseball shrine for future generations. The movie site, featuring rental and tours of the farmhouse, a souvenir shop, ballpark concessions, and “having a catch” on the field, attracts more than 125,000 visitors each year. The late Stillman had a vision for the 190-acre Field of Dreams Movie Site farm as a larger baseball training and youth-tournament centers. It sounds like the new ownership will seek to work off those plans; youth baseball and softball is a particularly hot segment of the overall baseball industry.
We had the chance to attend the 2021 Field of Dreams Game between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees; you can read the story here, as well as a look at the construction of an 8,000-capacity ballpark. We’ll see the Chicago Cubs take on the Cincinnati Reds in 2022’s Field of Dreams game on Aug. 11; also on the docket for the festivities that week is a game between the two top farm teams of both teams, the Iowa Cubs and Louisville Bats.
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