Iowa’s Field of Dreams game provides glimpse for Evansville

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) – Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke announced Wednesday the city is working with Major League Baseball to bring a special game to Bosse Field.

Winnecke told 14 News that this proposal came after city officials saw the Field of Dreams game in Iowa last year. That game is returning next week to Dyersville, Iowa, and economic leaders there and in Evansville say that one MLB game can give local businesses a big boost.

The Field of Dreams, built in Dyserville, has become a year-round attraction for the town of fewer than 5,000 people.

“All of our hotel rooms are booked, all of our Airbnbs are booked,” Dyserville Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Karla Thompson said.

She says local businesses have seen a boost since the first Field of Dreams game was played last August.

“Our retail has seen an increase, sales tax has been seeing an increase, just overall seeing an increase all year long,” Thompson said.

Evansville is a much bigger city than Dyersville, but Evansville Regional Economic Partnership CEO Tara Barney says the River City could see a similar economic boost if the MLB greenlights a special game at Bosse Field.

“We’re already on the map as a region, but the more we can do to raise the visibility around this region around a cool factor like this is huge for us,” Barney said.

[RELATED: History behind Bosse Field stands out as major selling point for potential MLB game]

She says focusing on Dyersville’s success with the Field of Dreams game and building several events around a potential game at Bosse Field will help maximize the opportunity for Evansville.

That is where local businesses come into play.

Barney says if businesses help promote the region, that promotion will eventually come back to help them.

“I think this is an example of a very extraordinary opportunity for us to put our region and therefore our hometown for so many businesses on the map,” Barney said.

She says when Evansville and the region win, so do the businesses that call the Tri-State their home.