As an avid fan of touring legendary sports sites and venues, I am very blessed and fortunate to have seen and toured some pretty neat places. Two of those places are Dyersville, Iowa and Cooperstown, New York. Not only are these two places great for tourism, they also set a huge precedent for Evansville to build our ball fields project next to Bosse Field at Kleymeyer Park. Let's take a look at these two towns...
Dyersville, Iowa: Population: 4,035
There's no question that Dyersville, Iowa wouldn't be on the map if it wasn't for the movie "Field of Dreams" starring Kevin Costner.
On August 11, 2006, I made it up to Dyersville when Austin, Texas' Alamo Drafthouse "Rolling Roadshow" showed Field of Dreams at the actually Field of Dreams Site in Dyersville. A giant, outdoor screen was set up adjacent to the field with seating, concessions, and parking along left and center field. I also got to see Kevin Costner unveil his new band as he played a few songs for an hour.
Visiting the Field of Dreams is something I will never forget. The lot is so small and isolated that you have to park your car in a gravel parking lot down the road and take a bus to the site. Ironically, I decided to wear my Yankees pinstripe jersey which was quite awkward as I rode the bus with fans who were all decked out in Red Sox gear.
While I was at the field, I was able to grab dirt and grass to take home as a souvenir. They now sit in two glass jars in my room...
What was interesting about the site was, at the time, the land was owned by two different owners. One family owned the house, the infield, and right field while another family owned left field and center field. During the film, the family who owned the infield and right field decided to close their area down. This forced all fans to left and center field for the film.
Because of the two families fighting over the land, Kevin Costner vowed that when he left there that day he would not return to the land until the owners quit fighting over it. I expect him to return very soon as one of the owners sold to the other and then both parcels were sold together...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/30/field-of-dreams-sold_n_1066328.html
The new owners will be Mike and Denise Stillman and their company, Go the Distance Baseball LLC, who will develop the site near Dyersville as a baseball and softball complex. That's right, they are building ball fields next to the Field of Dreams...
http://www.dyersvillecommercial.com/news/top_news/stillmans-unveil-preliminary-plans-for-all-star-ballpark-heaven/article_1ca1af4a-205e-11e1-bb60-001a4bcf6878.html
Note: bolding has been added by me to show you why it's important to build next to Bosse Field!
""This will be the premier baseball and softball facility in the nation," Mike Stillman said. "And it's going to be a great experience for these kids. There's no better place to play than Dyersville."
The centralized location of Dyersville, for one, is a more attractive tournament destination for teams in major cities like Chicago, Kansas City and Minneapolis. It would be the largest facility of its kind west of the Mississippi River, appealing to teams on the West Coast. Additionally, neither of the aforementioned complexes was designed with softball players in mind, engaging the female demographic.
Then, of course, there's the obvious draw - one of the most historic baseball landmarks would be right next door."
With Kleymeyer Park, we would have the best ball field facility that is centrally located between great baseball towns such as Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Detroit. And, we would have the historic landmark- Bosse Field next door. Why are we considering other sites?
Aberdeen, Maryland: Population: 14,959
Of the three cities, Aberdeen is the only one I have not visited yet although I have been to nearby Baltimore many times. What makes Aberdeen special? Three words: Cal Ripken Jr.
As the hometown to MLB legend Cal Ripken Jr, Aberdeen's main draw is Ripken Academy where traveling youth tournaments play baseball. However, this isn't just a normal ball fields complex...
http://www.ripkentournaments.com/aberdeenfacilities.cfm
"The Ripken Academy, home of Ripken youth camps and tournaments, consists of a youth-sized version of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, known as Cal Sr.'s Yard and youth-sized replicas of Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and Memorial Stadium.
Four skinned softball fields were added in 2005 when softball programming was brought into the mix and the academy boasts a one-of-a-kind circular training infield, batting cages and a tee/soft-toss area.
Around the Complex
The Ripken Youth Academy has plenty to offer visiting teams, campers and spectators. The concourse of Cal Sr.'s Yard is complete with Concessions, Merchandise, restrooms and water fountains.
In addition to the four signature fields and the skinned infield softball fields, Ripken Academy boasts an assortment of training areas, including:
Cal Sr.'s Yard at Ripken Academy
Cal Sr.'s Yard is one of the signature fields at the Academy, and a youth-sized replica of Oriole Park at Camden Yards - home of the Baltimore Orioles.
The Yard features stadium seating, dugouts, concession, merchandise stands & now featuring - The Warehouse!
The Warehouse is a Marriott hotel, where teams, campers and families can stay. Designed to match the Camden Yards warehouse, it's an incredible addition to the Academy.
Wrigley Field, Fenway Park & Old Memorial Stadium
Campers and tournament teams feel like pros when playing on these three incredible youth replicas of famous ballparks!
The fields boast covered dugouts, professional grass and infields, plenty of space for spectators and easy access to restrooms and concessions. Check out these incredible features that give you the Chicago, Boston or Baltimore experience:
- The Green Monster in left field of Fenway Park
- Beautiful brick backstop and ivy growing on Wrigley's outfield wall
- Authentic big league dugouts on Memorial, where Cal & Bill both got their professional start"
Cooperstown, New York: Population- 1,852
Like Dyersville, Iowa, I was fortunate to arrive in town during a big event. On July 28, 2007, I was in Cooperstown the day Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn went into the Baseball Hall of Fame..
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hof07/news/story?id=2953882
Why is Cooperstown home to the Baseball Hall of Fame? Because it is believed that Abner Doubleday invented the game there in 1839. If you walk down the main roads of Cooperstown, you get that genuine feel of what a small baseball town use to be like...
Today, Cooperstown, New York is taking full advantage of their baseball heritage with their ball fields complex...
http://www.cooperstowndreamspark.com/
Cooperstown Dreams Park is believed to be the premier ball fields facility in the nation.
http://www.cooperstowndreamspark.com/thepark.html
"The Village of Cooperstown adds even more magic to the experience of our tournaments. Participants will have the opportunity to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and attend baseball games at Doubleday Field, the legendary home of baseball, where the game began one afternoon in 1839.
To this excitement, add approximately 500,000 visitors who travel every year to this enchanting place for their own piece of the dream. While here, these true fans come to watch ball games at Doubleday Field and walk the streets in awe of the heroes who walked before them. Now, they come to Cooperstown Dreams Park."
Like Dyersville and Aberdeen, Cooperstown's ball fields are tailored specifically to their baseball heritage. At Cooperstown, all of the fields are designed to replicate vintage MLB fields as well as fields from the original days of baseball. Most importantly, their customers love it!...
http://www.cooperstowndreamspark.com/testimonials.html
What's great about our situation here in Evansville is that we have a leg up on all three of these venues before we even start. We already have the following in our favor..
1. We have open land next to Bosse Field already opened by the Parks Department
2. Both roads leading up to this park (Diamond & First) already have a baseball theme
3. We have a local legend in Don Mattingly as well as several other great MLB natives
4. We have the third oldest active ballpark in America and it hosted a popular movie
5. Our population is roughly 116,000 while the other three cities barely have 20,000 COMBINED
With that being said, what are the main points we can take from these premier parks?
Dyersville- Build the ball fields next to the site of a baseball movie
Aberdeen- Build the ball fields with your local MLB legend
Cooperstown- Build the ball fields to commemorate your baseball history
What makes Evansville so great is that we have all three of the above attributes with Bosse Field, Garvin Park, and Kleymeyer Park. There, we have the site of the movie A Leaue of Their Own, we have the youth baseball field where MLB legend Don Mattingly played, and we have baseball history with our third oldest active ballpark. How do we beat the above cities?
Dyersville- Does not have any baseball legends
Aberdeen- Does not have any baseball history inside the city
Cooperstown- Does not have any famous baseball movies
The most important thing to remember is this...
If we build the ball fields at Wesselman Park, we will compete regionally. If we build the ball fields at Kleymeyer Park, we will compete nationally.
Why aren't we taking advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity?
No comments:
Post a Comment