Key facts
- Twins and Phillies play the third-ever Field of Dreams game Thursday, ending their three-game series, after a three-year hiatus from the event.
- Renovated Dyersville, Iowa stadium seats 4,200 but expands to 8,000 with additional bleachers, which are expected to be used for this game.
- Renovation cost an estimated $45 million, including about $12 million from the state of Iowa.
- Kevin Costner is expected to appear as Netflix’s special guest; he took part in the 2021 broadcast but not the 2022 game.
- This is Netflix’s first Field of Dreams broadcast and its third MLB broadcast of the year overall.
- Broadcast team includes Matt Vasgersian, CC Sabathia, Hunter Pence, host Elle Duncan, reporter Lauren Shehadi, and analysts Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols and Anthony Rizzo.
Third Field of Dreams game set for Thursday
Major League Baseball returns to Dyersville, Iowa, on Thursday night for the third-ever Field of Dreams game, following a three-year hiatus. The Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies will close out their three-game series with the special event, which commemorates the 1989 film “Field of Dreams.” MLB previously staged games at the site in 2021 and 2022 before stepping away while the location went through ownership changes and renovations.
The stadium’s transformation
According to Sporting News, the field sits within the Field of Dreams MovieSite in the cornfields of Dyersville, on the same land where Universal Pictures built the ballpark for the 1988 film shoot. The 2021 MLB game was actually played in a separate, temporary stadium because the original set was not built to host professional games. The site has since gone through a renovation intended to make the original stadium permanent and suitable for future events. Once complete, the ballpark holds 4,200 fans but can be expanded to 8,000 with additional bleachers, and MLB is expected to use those extra bleachers for Thursday’s game to maximize attendance.
The renovation cost an estimated $45 million, with about $12 million of that funded by the state of Iowa, described as the project’s largest financial backer. The broader MovieSite complex is also adding a youth sports facility, currently under construction and expected to open in the spring, featuring turf infields and grass outfields for baseball, softball and senior baseball tournaments. Dyersville Events executive director Keith Rahe said the goal is to grow youth tournament play at the site beyond the hundreds of teams that have already competed there.
The property has had a complicated ownership history since the film’s 1989 release turned it into a tourist attraction, having been split at one point between two families, the Lansings and the Ameskamps, who each owned half of the field for decades.
Netflix’s broadcast and Kevin Costner’s role
This marks Netflix’s first time broadcasting the Field of Dreams game, after Fox aired the 2021 contest and the 2022 game between the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs. Kevin Costner, star of the original film, is expected to appear as the broadcast’s special guest, according to both Yahoo Sports and Sporting News. Costner took part in the first Field of Dreams broadcast in 2021, leading the Yankees and White Sox onto the field and delivering a roughly 10-minute speech, but he did not appear during the 2022 game.
Netflix vice president of global live sports and entertainment Gabe Spitzer said Costner will be part of the broadcast in some capacity but declined to confirm whether he will appear in person in Iowa or through prerecorded content, saying the network wants to keep his exact role a surprise. Spitzer said the film’s presence will be felt throughout the broadcast.
This is Netflix’s third baseball broadcast of the year. The announced booth and analyst lineup includes play-by-play voice Matt Vasgersian, with CC Sabathia and Hunter Pence returning as color commentators after working Opening Night. The studio analyst desk features Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols and Anthony Rizzo, with Elle Duncan hosting and Lauren Shehadi working as the on-field reporter.
Sources
- Yahoo Sports — MLB Field of Dreams stadium details: Inside the transformation from iconic movie set to 8,000-seat ballpark · What we know about Kevin Costner's role on Netflix's MLB Field of Dreams broadcast
- Sporting News — What we know about Kevin Costner’s role on Netflix’s MLB Field of Dreams broadcast · MLB Field of Dreams stadium details: Inside the transformation from iconic movie set to 8,000-seat ballpark
Featured photo: U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Tylon Chapman via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)