Friday, May 14, 2010

Have a few million to spare? Field of Dreams for sale!!!


Real estate agents can often get hyperbolic when talking about a "one-of-a-kind" property, but I don't think anyone will dispute that label on the newest listing in Dyersville, Iowa.

After all, how many iconic movie sets are not only available for purchase, but can also be lived in? The 193-acre farm where Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones filmed 1989's "Field Of Dreams" has been listed for sale by its owners after over a century of family ownership and the Des Moines Register reports that the asking price for the whole lot is $5.4 million.

That'd make for a good-sized mortgage, but it'd also get you the big farmhouse, the baseball diamond that Universal cut out of the corn, a few more farm buildings and about 65,000 tourists a year willing to buy your T-shirts and postcards.

Additional features include a vague yet suggestive voice in the sky, members of the 1919 Black Sox periodically showing up for a night game and the opportunity to play catch with your father's ghost.

It basically sounds like a great opportunity for anyone, so long as your brother-in-law isn't the dream-crushing character played by Timothy Busfield.

Former major league pitcher Ken Sanders is helping Don and Becky Lansing oversee the sale as they head into retirement and he says he's not quite sure who will end up as the buyer:

"It would be easy to guess a baseball player, a movie buff or even someone from the film's cast," Sanders said.

"But the movie's reach has been so widespread, potential buyers don't necessarily fall within those demographics. It could end up being a non-profit organization, a land trust or a foreign investor. We might all be surprised."

I know everyone's been joking all day about placing a bid on the house, but I'm completely serious in trying to convince my bosses to make this the new blogging headquarters of Big League Stew. Considering I could spend my lunch hour taking some hacks before eating at the unparalleled Country Junction restaurant nearby, it's a chance of a lifetime.

Head on over to SellFieldofDreamsMovieSite.com if you want to see all the real particulars (square footage, barn amenities, etc.) and put an offer together before I do. Or you can just listen to Terence Mann's "people will come" speech for much cheaper soul nourishment.

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