Field of Dreams getting $80 million makeover, including 9 new youth ballfields
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A massive makeover at the Field of Dreams movie site in Iowa is now underway.
Three years after a temporary ballpark was built next to the original "Field of Dreams" in a cornfield in Dyersville, the facility is now in the midst of an $80 million expansion.
White Sox Hall of Famer Frank Thomas headed a venture that bought a controlling interest in Go the Distance Baseball's stake in the movie site and temporary ballpark in 2021.
Six months later, the new owners unveiled their vision for a massive expansion of the site, which will preserve the iconic ballpark in the cornfield, as well as the temporary ballpark that hosted two Major League Baseball games in 2021 and 2022.
The project will add nearly 100 acres to the existing 190-acre site. When completed in 2025, it will include nine ball fields for youth baseball and softball, a 100,000-square-foot fieldhouse, a 104-room boutique hotel, an RV park, a concert amphitheater, jogging trails through the cornfields, and a park designed to be inclusive for children and adults with disabilities.
A permanent baseball stadium might also be added in the future.
"It's really going to help enhance the opportunity to build a stadium here in Dyersville. I think it's going to be, you know, a substantial impact as far as the economy goes here. So we're really looking forward to that," Dyersville mayor Jeff Jacque said.
The White Sox beat the Yankees on a walkoff home run by Tim Anderson in MLB's inaugural Field of Dreams game at the temporary ballpark in 2021, and last year the Cubs beat the Reds in the second Field of Dreams game.
No future Field of Dreams games have yet been announced.