A 8,000-seat ballpark is being constructed from scratch in Iowa on the same site where the famous 1989 movie Field of Dreams was filmed, and will host a matchup between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox next season.
Ground has already been broken for the temporary stadium where 17 acres of the iconic cornfields seen in the baseball movie starring Kevin Costner will be used for the venue and infrastructure, which will stage the first regular season Major League Baseball game held in the state of Iowa.
Members of the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA), a professional organization of individuals who manage sports fields around the world, will be involved in the development, construction and maintenance of the site adjacent to the original Field of Dreams to help meet MLB standards.
The field will be a sand-based natural grass system with a complete underdrain system. A fully automatic irrigation system will also be installed to manage the bluegrass sodded field. BrightView will oversee the installation of new foul poles, bullpens, a batter’s eye and backstop net while BaAm will build the temporary seating, locker rooms, media and press box areas in conjunction with Populous. The majority of the sitework and subbase system will be completed this fall. In the spring of 2020, USGA modified rootzone materials and sod will be added with an estimated completion date of mid-July. Following the historic contest, the field will remain with fencing included.
“This is a very special project,” says Murray Cook, president of BrightView Sports Turf and past president of STMA. “Everything will be built from scratch; from the pitcher’s mound, to the outfield, to the entire ballpark itself. Being the first MLB game in Iowa, we are especially pleased to have many ‘Iowans’ on our construction and maintenance teams to assist with the project.
BrightView also worked with the MLB to create the playing surface for the London Series game between the Yankees and red Sox, held at the London Stadium and the first regular season game in Europe.
“This will be an historic event and we are looking forward to working with our Iowa chapter to make it a great experience for the thousands in attendance and the millions watching from around the world,” said Kim Heck, CEO of STMA.
