In Iowa, a real Field of Dreams was built; fans have come to it ever since

“If you build it, they will come” is one of the most quoted lines from the film “Field of Dreams” (1989). 

The actual line, which comes from the Bible, is “If you build it, he will come.”

Adapted from W.P. Kinsella’s 1982 novel Shoeless Joe, “Field of Dreams” (which the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform in live-to-picture concerts May 30 and June 1) tells the story of Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner). Ray is walking through his cornfield when he hears a mysterious voice that announces, “If you build it, he will come.” The “he” in this case refers to White Sox outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta), disgraced in the Black Sox scandal of 1919.

Despite the prospect of financial ruin, Kinsella plows over his cornfield to create the baseball diamond described by the voice. Kinsella believes in the voice and soon sees visions of old baseball players on the field with him (although no one else can see them). Kinsella follows other visions and voices, and old players (alive and dead) come to the field, getting a second chance at fulfilling their dreams.

Soon after “Field of Dreams” came out, it inspired a real-life tourist attraction near Dyersville, Iowa. Along with part of a neighboring property, the Lansing Family farm, which was used in the film, became the “Field of Dreams” Movie Site. In 2011, the site was purchased by Go the Distance Baseball (an investors group headed by Denise Stillman) to create a place for baseball fans, tournament players and families. In 2015, the investors began working with Major League Baseball, and a 8,000-seat ballpark was built on the site. 

A pathway through a cornfield leads fans to the diamond, which overlooks the movie location. The right-field wall has windows that reveal the cornfields beyond the ballpark. Aspects of the park’s design, including the shape of the outfield and bullpens beyond the center-field fence pay homage to Chicago’s Comiskey Park, home of the White Sox from 1910 to 1990.

In 2021, the first Major League Baseball game was played on the Field of Dreams, with the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees facing off on Aug. 12, 2021, in “MLB at the Field of Dreams.” 

After undergoing a $80-million expansion, announced in 2022, the park was purchased by the non-profit group Dyersville Events in September 2024. Now billed as “Most Magical Place on Dirt,” the site will host two big concerts this summer: country hitmaker Tim McGraw on Aug. 30 and the Velocity Music Festival headlined by alternative rockers Nickelback on Aug. 31. 

Dyersville Events hopes fans will go the distance and head to rural Iowa for stadium-style concerts among the cornfields.