Field of Dreams Becomes Site of Battle

DYERSVILLE, Iowa —  They built it and they came.

Now the two sets of owners of the baseball field used in the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” are at loggerheads over what to do with the thousands of people drawn to the diamond in the middle of Iowa’s farm country.

Blame the movie producers.

They wanted to put the field west of Don Lansing’s farmhouse for optimal sunset filming scenes. But Lansing’s property didn’t extend far enough, so the producers had to sign two land contracts--one with him, one with his neighbors.

Seven years later, the field still has two sets of owners.

“In the first years, I guess we just went along with whatever,” Betty Boeckenstedt, Lansing’s sister, said. “But . . . we need to get control.”

The farmland where movie producers carved the infield, right field and part of center field has been in Boeckenstedt and Lansing’s family for 91 years. Lansing and his wife, Becky, also own and live in the farmhouse used in the motion picture.

Al and Rita Ameskamp, who live up the road from the Lansings, own the left field and part of center field.

The Lansings fear that the Ameskamps will overdevelop the area and ruin the idyllic quality people travel to see.

The Ameskamps have turned over management of their property to GS2, a Milwaukee investment banking firm. They’ve also put in batting cages and are planning an 1,800-square-foot concession and souvenir stand on their land.

The squabble came to a head in spring when the Lansings banned a local baseball team from their half of the field. The team, called the Ghost Players, was started by Keith Rahe of Dyersville, who also was hired by GS2 as its manager for the Ameskamp property.

When the Ameskamps and GS2 took their proposal to the county board of adjustments, the Lansings protested. The board turned down the plan in June.

But now, officials are looking into the souvenir stands that the Ameskamps and the Lansings run at the field. Both sides have profited from the thousands of tourists who aren’t charged admission but often buy merchandise.

Paul Buss, Dubuque County zoning administrator, said both sets of neighbors will be called before the zoning commission Aug. 20. Buss said the board needs to interpret how the land--zoned for agricultural purposes--is being used.

“Something has to be done one way or the other,” he said. “If we’re going to allow that to go on unchecked or unnoticed, why not just allow everything else out there?”

On a recent July day, the field looked blissful. Cars from Texas, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska and Iowa packed the gravel parking lot. Grandfathers and grandchildren played catch on the infield.

The souvenir stands were busy selling shirts, hats, copies of “Field of Dreams” and other items.

Rahe and the Lansings say they’re not violating zoning laws because their stands aren’t permanent buildings.

Both sides say they’re trying to preserve the field for movie and baseball fans, but they have different visions for the field’s future.

The Lansings and Boeckenstedt say they don’t want the field changed, even if that means keeping the portable toilets rather than installing modern ones.

“This is the way the world should be,” Becky Lansing said as she looked at the field. “It should be this carefree and this comfortable.”

Rahe says he’s not trying to overdevelop the field--he just wants to put in a larger souvenir stand that would have indoor toilets and running water. “You have to move on and try to do different things while at the same time keeping the focus on the field,” he said.