MLB’s Field of Dreams ballpark about to get its debut. Here’s what you should know.

MLB’s Field of Dreams ballpark about to get its debut. Here’s what you should know.

Major League Baseball is only a day away from unveiling its specially constructed 8,000-seat stadium in Dyersville, Iowa.

The park, which was built for MLB’s Thursday game between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees, is located adjacent to the iconic “Field of Dreams” movie site. While fans have gotten a few sneak peek images and some video of the park, MLB has kept the field under wraps, waiting to show it off to a nationally televised audience on FOX.

While the new park is off limits to fans right now, MLB recently provided the Register with some interesting news and notes about the diamond and the park. Here’s a quick guide to all kinds of information you could want for MLB’s big game.

• Field of Dreams game:Live coverage of New York Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox in Iowa
• Related:’Every little detail, they got it’: MLB’s ‘Field of Dreams’ ballpark ties together White Sox, Iowa history
• More:Yes, the Field of Dreams is a real place. Here are 9 things you should know.
• More:Didn’t get a ticket to the Field of Dreams game? Here’s where you can watch it on TV

How big is MLB’s Field of Dreams ballpark?

The Dyersville ballpark could be a hitter-friend park and it will resemble a lot of big league parks with its dimensions. It’ll be 335 feet down the lines and 400 feet to center. The alleys will be 380 feet. How does that stack up to most MLB parks? Well, take a look at Guaranteed Rate Field, the usual home for the White Sox. The left field line at the Chicago stadium is 330 feet while the right field line 335 feet. It’s also 400 feet to center. So, the Dyersville’s park, much like Guaranteed Rate Field after its 2001 renovations, could be a hitter-friendly facility. At the very least, it’ll have a lot of the same feel to it for hitters at the plate.

• More:How a 2016 trip to ‘Field of Dreams’ site convinced MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to hold game there
• More:MLB’s Field of Dreams game ignites renewed interest in the rural Iowa movie site and nearby Dyersville
• More:How MLB plans to get the Yankees and White Sox in and out of the Dyersville Field of Dreams site in one day

What will the Dyersville ballpark look like?

The park will take you back in time and the game will certainly have a throw-back feel to it. There have been rumblings the White Sox may even wear throwback uniforms. But that’s another topic. Here’s what we do know: Part of the park will look like the old Comiskey Park, which was demolished in 1991. The bullpens were specially designed like the ones from the old park and are located behind the 12-foot-high padded wall in center field.

• More:What players, actors are saying about coming to Dyersville for MLB’s Field of Dreams game
• More:’A kid in a candy store’: ‘Field of Dreams’ actors excited to see MLB game in Dyersville
• More:Yankees and White Sox to don custom throwback uniforms for Field of Dreams game

There will be an Iowa feel to it

One of the most iconic scenes from the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” is when players appear from the cornfield as they walk out onto the diamond. That’ll actually happen in the game. There will be a 16-foot removable fence panel in right field where the two teams will walk out of the corn and onto the field before the game. The right field fence has a special design that accentuates the corn with a fine mesh, 7-foot-high green chain link fence with offset vertical support posts that are actually in the corn. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, there are about 159 acres of corn surrounding the field. It’s a DeKalb corn, which has 650 kernels per ear. They will grow 10 to 12 feet high. The park will have an LED light system to light up the corn. They’ve even used Musco Lighting, an Iowa company.

• From the archives:A deep dive into the history and mystique of ‘Field of Dreams’ and the iconic Iowa ballfield
• From the archives:30 years later, they still come to Iowa’s Field of Dreams
• From the archives:The summer I spent with W.P. Kinsella

Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbir[email protected] or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.