The Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds are set to do battle in MLB‘s second Field of Dreams Game Thursday in Dyersville, Iowa. Here are the pertinent thins to know about this season’s game.
The festivities Thursday night will have to hold fans of the event over for at least two years, as the game apparently won’t be returning in 2023. Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, part of the complex’s ownership group, told the Des Monies Register that construction will mean no 2023 MLB event.
“It’s a lot going on,” Thomas said. “They don’t want to come back if the stadium’s not prepared.”
Thomas is referring to plans at the site to put in youth baseball and softball complexes. Construction is slated to begin this year, which means it’ll be ongoing next season and MLB apparently doesn’t want to deal with having a game while that is happening.
This does not take away the possibility of the game returning in future years, so in all likelihood the game will be back on in 2024.
Last season, the inaugural Field of Dreams Game was played between the Yankees and White Sox and it was an instant classic. Tim Anderson hit a walk-off home run for the White Sox in a game that featured eight longballs in all (we ranked all eight).
The ballpark was built on the property close to where the 1989 movie, “Field of Dreams” was filmed. In the movie, Kevin Costner’s character builds a baseball diamond in the middle of a cornfield and, well, there’s a lot more to it, for those interested. The movie racked up over $60 million at the box office and earned three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
The stadium currently seats around 8,000 fans.