The Field of Dreams game was a success. An otherwise run of the mill mid week, mid August game became a playoff level spectacle that highlighted only the good in America’s pastime. It should become part of every regular season.

Major League Baseball may want to consider making these type of one-off games a weekly occurrence, maybe once a week from the week after the All-Star Game until the start of September? This month and change is the doldrums of the American sports ecosystem. Special events like this could boost local economies, help make young stars household names and most importantly, grow the game.

Here are five parks ready to host the next Field of Dreams type MLB games.

Beyer Stadium, Rockford, Illinois

This one is the most obvious next choice. Along with Field of Dreams, A League of Their Own is one of the most beloved baseball films. It makes sense to expand this idea to include the home stadium of the Rockford Peaches, the most successful team of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Also, the stadium was recently updated but maintains all of its historic charm. Also, the club was owned by Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley. So this could be the Chicago Cubs game, the Field of Dreams game could remain the Chicago White Sox game and the crosstown rivalry expands into a northern Illinois/Iowa rivalry.

Providence Park, Portland, Oregon

The former home of the The Portland Mavericks, this stadium is the current home of MLS’ Portland Timbers and one of the oldest stadiums currently in use in the United States. It’s also recently updated and has a Hollywood tie. The excellent 2014 documentary The Battered Bastards of Baseball chronicles the rise and fall of the original Mavericks (a version of the team came back in 2021). And like Field of Dreams and A League of Their Own, there’s a Hollywood tie-in. Kurt Russell played for the team (his dad was also the team’s owner) so there’s the mandatory celebrity appearance.

Hadlock Field, Portland, Maine

Time to visit the other Portland. Maine and Cape Cod have a rich baseball tradition. They also have one of the biggest fan bases with the Red Sox. Why not utilize the pretty fantastic Hadlock Field, home of the club’s AA affiliate Sea Dogs? This will be the easiest game to produce, literally all of the infrastructure is there. Bonus, the team’s September 12 promotion is a tie-in to Field of Dreams. The promotion, Field of Dreams/ Fan Appreciation Day, claims, “It’s a scene right out of the movie as the Sea Dogs wear old time uniforms and emerge from a cornfield.” Now make it happen on a national stage, MLB.

Unrelated, I love this stadium because they have a trash can mascot that encourages recycling. And when a Sea Dog hit a home run a big lighthouse rises from center field. And there’s a giant L.L Bean boot outside right field.

Elysian Park, Hoboken, New Jersey

It’s not the birthplace of baseball, but it is one block from the birthplace of baseball and the Birthplace of Baseball Monument. It’s not that different from the Field of Dreams game. The actual Major League Baseball game wasn’t played on the diamond from the film, it’s about a city block away (anyone who watched the Fox broadcast knows this, there was an aerial shot of the scene seemingly between every at bat). This could be a great reminder that baseball is an urban game. It could double as the unofficial home of the San Francisco Giants vs. New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets series since the modern Giants and Dodgers can trace their history to the Metropolitana and Giants that played at Elysian Fields and the original New York Metropolitan Baseball Club inspired the name of the modern Mets.

Estadio Latinoamericano, Havana, Cuba

This may seem like a stretch, but it’s more likely than the other four dream games. President Obama attended a spring 2016 game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban National Team at Estadio Latinoamericano and while relations between the U.S. and Cuba aren’t as friendly as they were 5 years ago, things will change and a Tampa Bay Rays or Miami Marlins home game in Havana is not outside of the realm of possibility.

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