DYERSVILLE, Iowa – The Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees are slated to play at the famous ‘Field of Dreams’ movie set in Dyersville, Aug. 12, in what has been officially called ‘MLB at Field of Dreams presented by GEICO.’

Major League Baseball officials recently announced the National Corn Growers Assoc. has agreed to become an official partner of the summer event.

“The National Corn Growers Assoc. brings an authentic voice of the American corn farmer to this unprecedented game,” said Bill Morningstar, Major League Baseball executive vice president of sponsorship sales.

Next month’s historic event is supported by the Illinois Corn Marketing Board and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, and sponsored by Doosan, John Deere, and Musco Lighting.

“The National Corn Growers Assoc. is a perfect fit to sponsor a game nestled in a cornfield, just like the film we will celebrate,” he said. “We are delighted to welcome the National Corn Growers Assoc. on board as an official partner of an event that will be memorable for all sports fans.”

The game will be played at a newly-constructed ballpark adjacent to the ‘Field of Dreams’ movie site, which will be broadcast nationally on FOX. In August 2019, construction began on a Major League Baseball regulation field and stadium, with a maximum capacity of 8,000 to host the first-ever regular-season Major League Baseball game in Iowa.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, the ‘MLB at Field of Dreams presented by GEICO’ event, which was originally scheduled in 2020, was postponed to 2021.

John Linder, National Corn Growers Assoc. president, and an Edison, Ohio, corn producer, said this is a “first-in-a-lifetime event to see two professional sports teams from two of America’s biggest cities play a game in a field of corn.”

“This creates a unique opportunity to tell the story of the American corn farmer to the American public in a creative and highly entertaining way,” he said.

The 1989 film tells the story of Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner), a husband and father who is tending to his cornfield when he hears a mysterious voice intone, “If you build it, he will come.”

According to the American Film Institute (AFI), those words are the 39th top film quote of all-time. The White Sox and the Yankees are the two favorite baseball clubs of Ray’s father, John Kinsella, at different points of his life.

Dirk Rice, Illinois Corn Marketing Board chair, and Philo, Ill., farmer, said, “This is a terrific opportunity for us to provide a connection between local farmers and their communities. There may not be a better place to build that relationship than the ballpark. We are excited to share who we are, and how we farm with baseball fans around the country.”

Greg Alber, Iowa Corn Promotion Board president and Independence, Iowa, farmer, said, “There is nothing more American than baseball and farming, and we are excited to have them come together on a century-old family farm in a rural Iowa cornfield.”

“Our goal is that baseball fans leave with a sense of pride, not only in the team they are rooting for, but pride in our American corn farmers, and an appreciation for agriculture,” he said.