If you build it, they will come… but they might not always play nice.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help raise money for repairs needed after someone vandalized the iconic “Field of Dreams” field in Dyersville, Iowa — the one that was used in the 1989 film starring Kevin Costner. More than $10,000 has been raised as of Thursday morning.
The campaign started after the owners of the field realized on the morning of Jan. 23, someone had driven a vehicle onto the baseball diamond, causing deep gashes and $15,000 in damage.
“Many areas of the turf had been ripped up with potential damage to the refurbished irrigation system,” the GoFundMe page says. “This campaign will fund those repairs and install a security system to help protect this magical baseball shrine for the 100,000 visitors each season worldwide to enjoy.”
“Someone who is disturbed had some agenda to damage the field,” owner of the Dyersville’s Field of Dreams movie site Denise Stillman told the Telegraph Herald. “It’s upsetting.”
The site’s field manager Al Steffen told the local paper that there were some gashes four inches deep in the field, with most of the damage in the middle of left field. He added that in addition to the grass, the sprinkler system was damaged. He said that they won’t be able to fully asses the damage until springtime.
Iconic Dyersville movie site scarred by apparent vandalshttps://t.co/b9cut2FpVE pic.twitter.com/pDStz72feK
— Telegraph Herald (@TelegraphHerald) January 24, 2018
“We need to wait until the spring to figure out how much we’re going to need to tear up,” he said. Stillman added that she thinks it will take an entire season to finish the repairs.
Despite the setback, the field will remain open as Dyersville’s most popular landmark.
Said one supporter on GoFundMe: “If you donate, they will repair.”