For the second time in as many years, Major League Baseball played a game on the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa (population 4,561). While working as temporary staff at the game, I continually marveled at the logistical feats required to make this event — in a literal cornfield — happen (see dot #3351). But mostly, I thought about Denise Stillman.
Denise visited the Field of Dreams while on vacation in 2010 — then not much more than the preserved baseball field and original house from the movie. But like Kevin Costner’s character in the film, she saw a vision for what baseball meant and what the field could be. A big vision.
I heard her describe that vision and she was a commanding presence. After she spoke, I could see her dream of a youth sports complex that hosted traveling teams from throughout the Midwest. I believed her when she said the site could become a “mecca for traveling baseball” and that it could rival Cooperstown as a host site for Little League tournaments. Her energy and passion were contagious — except to the land’s neighbors.
The surrounding land owners partnered to form a collaborative to oppose Stillman and her plans — wanting to keep all that traffic and outsiders away from ruining the small-town Iowa feel. They sued her for improper zoning — repeatedly. She sued them for interference and defamation. Finally, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled and allowed her to play ball, five years after she acquired the site.
But during that time, Denise was diagnosed with cancer. Instead of seeing her dream come to fruition, she spent her final working years with lawyers — but still acting as if she would prevail. It was her vision and persuasive lobbying efforts during this time that convinced Major League Baseball to do the unthinkable — build a temporary stadium in a cornfield and play a game there. They signed the contract four months after her passing.
After the success of the first MLB game, everyone sees the vision that Denise was the only one to see for years. Today, investors have an $80 million plan to develop the site with fields, a hotel, a team dormitory, and an outdoor amphitheater — and multiple entities are jumping on board with million-dollar grants for infrastructure and even a permanent stadium.
Denise Stillman is a role model to all of us — reminding us to dream big, and to keep dreaming, even when there are two outs in the ninth and the wind is blowing in. Persistence does pay off. People did come, Denise. People most definitely did come.
