Baseball and country music meet in the Field of Dreams

A baseball legend and country music superstar meet at the Field of Dreams in Iowa.

The 193-acre farm and baseball complex, built around the fictional Kinsella family home, the beloved cornfield and the vibrant baseball diamond, will host a Tim McGraw concert for the first time on August 30 – the day McGraw’s birth father and Major Major League Baseball relief pitcher Frank Edwin “Tug” McGraw would have been 81 years old.

The pop culture tourist attraction and tournament haven in Dyersville, Iowa was the setting for the 1989 sports fantasy film of the same name. The film, which was nominated for three Academy Awards, featured Keven Costner as the farmer “Ray Kinsella” who answered a voice: “If you build it, he will come.”

Staging a major concert event for the first time on rural farmland struck Nick Abate, founder and CEO of the US Concert Agency, not as a mystical message, but as the desire to create something out of the box and the tenacity to do so. was just as strong. Abate spent years developing a relationship with the Field of Dreams owners, who eventually put it up for sale.

“We got to a comfortable place and it was in the middle of them selling the property,” Abate explained. “A lot when it was on and there were a few opportunities that never materialized, so I’m thankful we were able to get this one done.”

The field is open from sunrise to sunset year-round with a busy calendar of youth baseball, softball and 50+ senior baseball tournaments. MLB at Field of Dreams is a returning Major League Baseball specialty game played in a ballpark adjacent to Field of Dreams. The first edition of the game was played on August 12, 2021, with the Chicago White Sox defeating the New York Yankees.

Field of Deams hosts Ghost Saturday with character actor/players and the Moonlight Graham Classic in September, a tribute to the movie and baseball player/doctor Archie “Moonlight” Graham, who played a game in 1922 for the New York Giants but never got to hit to. .

Dyersville is 30 minutes from Dubuque and one hour from Cedar Rapids. Because of its remote location, Abate said the production will be brought in and built from the ground up for an expected 20,000 concertgoers.

“First of all, this property is magical,” Abate offered. “I had the opportunity to go there, visit the place, walk it, and it was an immersive experience just to be on the property where the film took place. Everything remains the same even the benches. So when we plan the event, we bring everything in We build everything out.”

The concert takes place on the front of the property to preserve the famous baseball diamond. Parking will be on-site and shuttles will be available from Dubuque to reduce traffic as well as drive-by departures.

“It’s not just the production piece that’s super important, we have security, traffic control, and we’ve spent a lot of time specifically on that to create flow, ease in and out and work with suppliers and shuttle services,” said Abate, who did not elaborate the sellers or the costs.

A first-time event has plenty of unknowns, but Abate was confident about Tim McGraw and weaved Tug McGraw into the event, especially given the film’s sentimental story and the relationship between Kostner’s character and his father, John.

“It was all part of the vision,” Abate admitted. “I live in Nashville and thought Tim McGraw would be a great act because country does very well in the Midwest… He was like, “Absolutely, I’m doing this.” It was an easy sell.”

Tug McGraw played for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies between 1965 and 1984. He coined the phrase “Ya gotta believe,” which became the rallying cry for the Mets in 1973 and remains a popular slogan among fans. McGraw struck out Willie Wilson to end the 1980 World Series against the Kansas City Royals, giving the Phillies their first World Series championship in franchise history.

Tug McGraw died on January 5, 2004 from Glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Several years later, Tim McGraw spread a handful of his ashes on the pitcher’s mound at the Phillies’ current home park, Citizens Bank Park, for game three of the 2008 World Series.

“As I continue to disrupt the live event industry, I wanted to create a monumental event in a market that deserves to be showcased,” said Abate. “When I was looking for inspiration, I realized that doing a first-ever here would be huge. and thought even more that Tim McGraw would make it even more of a historic moment with the relationship with Tim and his father MLB legend Tug McGraw.”

Tickets go on sale Monday including VIP experiences through a partnership with StubHub with more concerts planned at the venue in the future. StubHub presale starts Monday, January 20th with event presale on Tuesday, January 21st and general sale on Friday, January 24th.