In the film Field of Dreams, farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) traveled to Boston to convince jaded author Terence Mann (James Earl Jones) to watch a game back in the cornfields of Iowa.
For the 2021 Field of Dreams game, fans will need to be a real-life Iowan if they want to see the (non-ghost) Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees take the field.
Public registration for Field of Dreams tickets began Thursday. The online registration window remains open until 11 a.m. Friday, July 23 through the MLB website.
Ticket purchase opportunities for the Aug. 12 game will be decided by a random drawing. But, there’s a catch:
MLB limits the Field of Dreams lottery to fans with Iowa ZIP codes. Major League Baseball constructed an 8,000-seat ballpark adjacent to the movie set, so tickets will be in high demand.
Field of Dreams ticket lottery registration is easy
Those with an email account and an Iowa address shouldn’t have any problem staying in the hunt for the ticket lottery. The online registration form asks for your:
- Name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Mobile phone number
- Email address
That’s it.
Iowans don’t have to worry about providing payment information unless MLB selects their ticket request. Since the drawing is random, the timing of the registration this week won’t matter. Someone who entered the lottery July 16, has the same chance as someone who meets the July 23 deadline with minutes to spare.
The website accepts only the first registration, though. Iowans can’t load up the MLB website with numerous registration attempts from the same online profile.
MLB will hold its random drawing on Aug. 1. The league will notify successful registrants on Aug. 2. Lottery winners can then buy their tickets on or about Aug. 3.
They’ll get two tickets to the game and a parking pass as part of a “ticket strip.”
MLB Field of Dreams game history and basics
Those who win Field of Dreams ticket opportunities will get a chance to see the first Major League Baseball game ever played in Iowa. The Field of Dreams movie site is about 70 miles east of Waterloo or about 25 miles west of Dubuque near Dyersville, IA.
The Aug. 12 Field of Dreams game schedule is:
- 2 p.m. — Parking gates open
- 3 p.m. — Ball park gates open
- 6:15 p.m. — First pitch on Fox
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Field of Dreams earned a 1990 Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. MLB planned the game a year ago. It would have coincided with the 30th anniversary of the movie’s Oscar nomination.
The White Sox were set to play the St. Louis Cardinals. MLB scrubbed the 2020 game due to pandemic logistics, however.
Field of Dreams is a tourist site with hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through August. The field closes at 6 p.m. in September and October, then goes dark from November through March.
The hosts don’t charge visitors to walk around the field, but they appreciate donations to offset operating costs. Field of Dreams offers a concession stand, souvenir shop and tours of the “Kinsella home” as well. Visitors can even rent the three-bedroom farmhouse for overnight stays.
Yankees vs. White Sox Field of Dreams odds
Field of Dreams game odds for the cornfield contest are down the graveled road a bit, but legal sportsbooks in Iowa think the White Sox (56-36 as of Monday) are a top-five candidate to win the World Series.
Based on baseball futures, Chicago’s Southside team is a third- or fourth-best pick to celebrate in October. The Yankees (48-44) are on the fringe of the top 10.
Baseball is back from the All-Star break, so fans can bet on baseball games, or parts of games including the first five innings as they await next month’s first pitch in Dyersville.
Movie behind the game
Field of Dreams is adapted from the 1982 book Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella. The movie became a National Film Registry selection by the Library of Congress in 2017.
According to MLB’s official website:
“The 1989 film tells the story of Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella, a husband and father who is tending to his cornfield when he hears a mysterious voice intone, ‘If you build it, he will come.’ According to the American Film Institute (AFI), those words are the 39th top film quote of all-time. The White Sox and the Yankees are the two favorite Clubs of Ray’s father, John Kinsella, at different points of his life.”
