MLB Still Planning Field of Dreams Game in 2021

Despite the ongoing pandemic, Major League Baseball hasn’t given up on its dream of holding baseball at the famed Field of Dreams movie site in Iowa.

The MLB announced Monday that the White Sox and Yankee, the two teams originally slated for the old-time matchup, will meet for an Aug. 12, 2021, contest in Dyersville. The original date had been to play Aug. 13, 2020, but the MLB’s move to regional scheduling due to the pandemic dashed those plans. 

“It’s comforting and it’s exciting,” Roman Weinberg, the director of operations for Go The Distance which runs the Field of Dreams movie site, told the Des Moines Register. “Here we go again. It’s the second go around. We were all patient throughout this whole process, understanding that the health and safety of everyone involved is and continues to be the top priority. Postponing the (first) game made sense and was the responsible thing to do, but now that we can put our sights on Aug. 12 of next year, it’s exciting to have that confirmed.”

The game will be nationally televised on Fox and played in a temporary ballpark adjacent to the movies site, which has a capacity of 8,000 fans.

The MLB said the game remains contingent on public health next summer and the feasibility of ticket availability. For now, the MLB hopes to welcome fans to the game.

“Obviously it’s hard to tell at this point with these uncertain times,” Weinberg said. “We’ll go back to obviously if it’s safe to do so, we knew the game is just more powerful and more magical with fans as we saw in the postseason and the World Series this year. But obviously only until we deem that it’s safe to do that, an announcement will be made on whether or not fans will be in attendance. Either way, it’s going to be a spectacle if we can safely hold the game next year — fans or no fans.”