A decade ago, Go the Distance Baseball formed to preserve the Iowa farm site where the 1989 movie Field of Dreams was filmed. The farmhouse can be rented or toured, and the venue includes a souvenir shop, ballpark concessions, and a field where visitors can have a catch. It’s expected to attract about 300,000 visitors this year.
Recently, the venue’s new owners unveiled a plan to build a youth baseball and softball destination for players, fans, and tourists, while preserving the cornfield setting and working farm. With $80 million in private investment, the master plan will almost double the site’s size—adding almost 100 acres to the original 190-acre footprint of the former Lansing family farm and movie site. The project will include nine new ballfields, dormitories for teams, and a boutique hotel, all slated to be completed in phases by the end of 2023.
“While the substantial private investment will expand and enhance our facilities, we are deeply committed to preserving the romantic experience of the Field of Dreams, including the views, the baseball diamond, the farmhouse, and the cornfields. Those images will never change,” COO Dan Evans, a longtime executive for five MLB franchises, said in a statement.
Additional phases through 2025 will include a 100,000-square-foot fieldhouse, an outdoor concert amphitheater, an RV park, a large park inclusive for children and adults with disabilities, and jogging trails through the cornfields. When fully completed, the development will create about 170 new full-time-equivalent jobs. Area residents can have member access to the indoor fieldhouse and a training facility for year-round recreation.
“Preserving and enhancing one of Iowa’s top tourism destinations makes this project a win-win for the local and state economies,” Keith Rahe, president and CEO of Travel Dubuque, said in a statement.
Owner: Go the Distance Baseball, LLC
Owner’s representative: Leopardo Companies
Design architect and architect of record: RDG Planning & Design
MEP engineer: KCL Engineers
Structural engineer: Origin Design
Related Stories
| Oct 30, 2014
New hotel to be developed at future Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters
The Omni property will be one of the only full-service upscale hotels in the area, and serve as a cornerstone of the mixed-use development, which will be anchored by the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters and Frisco’s Multi-Use Event Center.
| Oct 20, 2014
Singapore Sports Hub claims world's largest free-spanning dome
The retractable roof, which measures a whopping 1,017-feet across, is made from translucent ETFE plastic panels supported with metal rigging that arches over the main pitch.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.
| Sep 22, 2014
Sound selections: 12 great choices for ceilings and acoustical walls
From metal mesh panels to concealed-suspension ceilings, here's our roundup of the latest acoustical ceiling and wall products.
| Sep 17, 2014
Atlanta Braves break ground on mixed-use ballpark development
SunTrust Park will be constructed by American Builders 2017, a joint venture between Brasfield & Gorrie, Mortenson Construction, Barton Malow Company, and New South Construction.
| Sep 9, 2014
Using Facebook to transform workplace design
As part of our ongoing studies of how building design influences human behavior in today’s social media-driven world, HOK’s workplace strategists had an idea: Leverage the power of social media to collect data about how people feel about their workplaces and the type of spaces they need to succeed.
