Dyersville working with Field of Dreams owners

DYERSVILLE - The city of Dyersville is one step closer to entering into an agreement with the new owners of the Eastern Iowa site made famous in the movie “Field of Dreams.”

Go the Distance LLC is headed by Mike and Denise Stillman of suburban Chicago. They want to build what they say will be the Midwest's largest youth baseball and softball complex, drawing thousands of visitors to the area each summer. Plans call for the $38 million complex to have 24 fields and an indoor training center.

This week, City Council members approved a memorandum to serve as a guideline for the next few steps with developers.

“This memorandum of understanding does not commit the city to anything other than continuing this process and working with these people and see if an agreement can be reached under various items that need to be put together to make this whole project,” City Attorney Marc Casey said.

The council is expected to vote on annexing the “Field of Dreams” property at its next meeting, scheduled for July 2.

The site is named for a 1989 movie starring Kevin Costner, based on the book “Shoeless Joe” by W.P. Kinsella. The movie is set on a farm where Costner's character carves a baseball diamond out of a cornfield and brings to life players from the 1919 Chicago White Sox.

Since the film's release, the farm has been a tourist attraction for baseball fans and non-fans alike.