The Legendary “Field Of Dreams” For Sale

As you can imagine, this next post is very near and dear to my heart. It looks like the legendary Field of Dreams is up for sale. The asking price? A cool $5.4 million.

Here is the story from the Associated Press.

My friends and I at the Field of Dreams last year

Don and Becky Lansing, the owners of the site near Dyersville where the field was built by Universal Studios, said Thursday they’re selling the property.

The couple said they love the land, which has been in Don Lansing’s family for more than a century, but they’re ready to retire and give up the property.

“It’s really time for us to head to the locker room. Maybe that sounds corny. I don’t care,” Becky Lansing told The Associated Press. “We really would just love to become spectators. We want to sit in the bleachers. We want to look forward to all that the ‘Field of Dreams’ will become in the future.”

The “Field of Dreams” is in the middle of a cornfield in eastern Iowa. The movie, released in 1989 with Costner as its star, was based on the book “Shoeless Joe” by W.P. Kinsella.

The site has been a popular tourist destination, with the family maintaining the baseball diamond built by Universal. The Lansings purchased the left field and center portions from neighbor Rita Ameskamp in 2007, ending a long-standing split over the commercialization of the site.

Up for sale is the diamond, a two-bedroom house, six outbuildings that include a concession stand, and a 193-acre parcel. The land includes the mystical cornfield where the ghosts of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, “Moonlight” Graham and others emerge to play ball.

Former major league pitcher Ken Sanders, now a real estate consultant overseeing the sale, said he’s already received a number of inquiries about the property.

Sanders said the majority of those who’ve reached out have shown interest in preserving the property. But he’s also heard from people thinking about putting up a hotel, water park and even some contemplating whether to build a minor league ballpark on the site.

There’s little doubt, though, that the property’s iconic place in sports movie history will help its resale value.

“We are the caretakers of a living piece of sports memorabilia,” Becky Lansing said. “This is an organic, living, breathing piece of memorabilia.”

As many of you know, I had the opportunity to visit the Field of Dreams last September. Needless to say, it was an experience of a lifetime. It would be highly disappointing if the person or group that brought the property turned it into a freaking water park.

I doubt that will happen though. I would imagine the property would be sold to someone who wants to preserve what the field means.

Though wouldn’t it be something if The Ghost of Moonlight Graham bought the very field that made him famous and everything came full circle

Stranger things have happened.