On Thursday, August 13, Major League Baseball will return to Dyersville, Iowa for the first Field of Dreams game since 2022. The Minnesota Twins will be the home team in a matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies next to the cornfields and movie site of the iconic 1989 baseball movie, Field of Dreams.
This will be the third MLB Field of Dreams game, and the first at a refurbished permanent site. The two prior games occurred at a temporary stadium built specifically for the event. First hosted in 2021, the White Sox beat the Yankees in a thrilling 9-8 walkoff victory, and in 2022 the Reds faced off against the Cubs prior to the site renovation. No other games were held while the new site was under construction. It appears MLB was more than willing to reinvest, given the impressive hype those two games generated.
This year’s first pitch will be in the evening, though the exact time has not yet been specified. But the field is ready, and the fans will come.
How to get tickets to the Field of Dreams games
In previous years, a ticket lottery opened in the first week of June, and that has happened again; registration opened yesterday for a random drawing. But in a new twist, this year’s lottery is only open to Iowa residents through June 11, and there is no mention of a supplemental lottery for out-of-state fans of either participating team (or anyone else).
Unfortunately, that means non-Iowa residents’ only ticketing option will be resale sites. Right now, that’s not an option that you should consider. Resale sites currently have just a handful of tickets available, but with prices starting in the thousands of dollars. Our belief is that these are likely speculative tickets that aren’t even in the seller’s hands, and are being listed at such an outrageous price that they know they could source tickets to fill such an order for far less.
We also know that while resale tickets for previous Field of Dreams games started out at astronomical prices in 2021 and 2022, those prices fell drastically as the summer went on. For the 2022 Cubs-Reds game, prices fell below $500. That was for a game that included the Chicago Cubs, whose fanbase was less than a three-hour drive from Dyersville. So we would caution you against overpaying for these tickets.
In addition, we would suggest being careful about purchasing tickets from random sites that you find on Google. While resale sites such as StubHub and SeatGeek are well-known and have consumer protections in place, these other sites have no such verified policies. No matter how much you might want to go, forking over thousands of dollars to an unknown source is always a bad idea.
The Iowa ticket sale, following the lottery, opens on June 18. Start checking resale platforms for those tickets then.
Where to stay
Even though it may be too early to purchase tickets, it’s not too early to be thinking about travel plans, especially since the game’s remote location can create logistical challenges for traveling fans.
Dyersville has limited hotel options, many of which are already sold out for August 13. The Dyersville Colonial Inn and Super 8 by Wyndham have a select few rooms still available. Dubuque, the nearest large-ish town, is a 40-minute drive away but has far more hotels given its proximity to the regional airport. Still, many of their hotels are also sold out. The Country Inn & Suites in Dubuque only has a few queen and king rooms available; the Grand Harbor Resort in Dubuque has more options available starting at $269 a night. The Galena Inn in Galena, Illinois (a ~55 minute drive from Dyersville) has options around $267 a night as well.
Getting there
Dyersville is a 45-minute drive from Dubuque Regional Airport and 95 miles away from Quad City International Airport in Illinois. There are additional airports in the surrounding area, including Eastern Iowa Airport, Dane County Regional Airport, and Chicago Rockford International Airport, but they will all have much more limited service.
Because of the distances involved and the lack of public transportation, we recommend renting a car for the duration of your stay. The exact address of the ballpark is 28995 Lansing Rd, Dyersville, IA 52040. For more information about transportation to and from Dyersville, click here.
The less expensive option: Minor League Baseball at Field of Dreams
If you want to see a game, but price or logistics are making it difficult, the Triple-A St. Paul Saints and Iowa Cubs will play at the field on August 11. Much of the same information from above applies, but both hotels and game tickets will be significantly less expensive.
Alternatively, if you have time off in early July, the Northwoods League will be hosting its Home Run Derby, Home Run Challenge, and All-Star Game at the Field of Dreams on July 7-8. Founded in 1994, the Northwoods League is a premier collegiate summer league stretching across the Midwest and Canada. Over 400 Northwoods alumni have gone on to play in the major leagues, including Chris Sale, Max Scherzer, Pete Alonso, and Brandon Crawford. The Northwoods events ticket prices start at $22.50.
Additionally, the MLB game will be streaming on Netflix on August 13.
