Monday, December 23, 2024

Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Thomas buys controlling interest in Field of Dreams Movie Site

Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Thomas buys controlling interest in Field of Dreams Movie Site
Field of Dreams Movie Site
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Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Thomas has become a television advertising fixture over the past few years, and on Thursday he bought into a site that has graced television screens for over a quarter century. The Big Hurt joined real estate developer Rick Heidner in buying controlling interests in the Field of Dreams Movie Site and its sister company, All-Star Ballpark Heaven. 

The movie site’s new ownership group, Thomas and Heidner’s This is Heaven LLC, will name Thomas the CEO and former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dan Evans the chief operating officer. 

“We are excited to lead the future development and expansion of the Field of Dreams in a collaborative spirit with our neighbors and government officials,” Thomas said in a statement.

Go the Distance Baseball bought the 190-acre Field of Dreams Movie Site — which included a working corn field — in 2011, but the company’s former leader, Denise Stillman, died in 2018. The Denise M. Stillman Trust has held controlling interests in the Dyersville, Iowa site since. 

The site grew famous after the Phil Alden Robinson film “Field of Dreams,” starring Kevin Costner and Amy Madigan, released in 1989. “Field of Dreams” made $64,431,625 in domestic box-office revenue and earned three Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. 

This season Major League Baseball introduced a park adjacent to the Field of Dreams Movie Site and hosted a game between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox on Aug. 12. The Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds will play each other at the park next season on Aug. 11.

The 53-year-old Thomas earned five All-Star appearances, two AL MVPs, a batting title and four Silver Sluggers over his 19-year MLB career. He spent 16 years with the White Sox but also played for the Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics

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