A planned “Field of Dreams” television series that was slated to film in Iowa has declined a $6 million state tourism grant, saying the series will not be made next year.
NBCUniversal, which was developing the series based on the hit 1989 movie, declined the funds in an email to the state agency that runs the grant program. The email was first reported Thursday by the Des Moines Register.
“Our plans have changed and we will not be making the TV Series ‘Field of Dreams’ in the coming year,” Morgan Sackett wrote in an Oct. 24 email to the Iowa Economic Development Authority. “We greatly appreciate your help getting the grant and are disappointed not to be filming in Iowa.”
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Sackett did not respond to a message seeking comment on the series’ future.
The series was announced in August 2021, and originally was slated to air on Peacock, a streaming network owned by NBCUniversal. Plans were to film in Iowa, although mostly in Central Iowa and not at the iconic movie site near Dyersville.
On June 27, NBCUniversal was awarded a $6 million grant through Destination Iowa, a state program that includes grants for tourism projects. At the time, it was the second-largest grant awarded through the $100 million program, which was funded by federal pandemic relief funding that Gov. Kim Reynolds had opposed when it was created.
Just days after the state grant was announced, however, national entertainment reports said the show would no longer air on Peacock, leaving it without a home. At the time, the state said the $6 million grant would remain dedicated to the series because Destination Iowa grants are not awarded until the project is underway.
Now that NBCUniversal has declined the grant, that $6 million goes back into the Destination Iowa pot and becomes available for other projects that have applied.
Dyersville also received a $12.5 million Destination Iowa grant for a planned baseball stadium at the movie site. Two Major League Baseball games have been played at a temporary stadium at the site. The $50 million stadium is part of a larger $80 million project that will include nine fields for youth baseball, a hotel, event space, an RV park and an amphitheater.
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Through Thursday, 18 projects had been awarded Destination Iowa grants totaling $72.1 million, leaving nearly $28 million — including the recently declined $6 million from the “Field of Dreams” series — available to applicants.
The state will continue to accept applications through Dec. 31, and awards will continue to be announced through the first portion of 2023, an agency spokeswoman said.
Cedar Rapids is among the cities that have applied for Destination Iowa funding. Recently, city officials have twice decreased their request for funds — from about $27 million to just over $6.3 million — for greenway improvements in Czech Village and the New Bohemia district. The city’s application includes the Czech Village Roundhouse, a destination park and a convertible street for events.
www.thegazette.com
NBCUniversal, which was developing the series based on the hit 1989 movie, declined the funds in an email to the state agency that runs the grant program. The email was first reported Thursday by the Des Moines Register.
“Our plans have changed and we will not be making the TV Series ‘Field of Dreams’ in the coming year,” Morgan Sackett wrote in an Oct. 24 email to the Iowa Economic Development Authority. “We greatly appreciate your help getting the grant and are disappointed not to be filming in Iowa.”
Advertisement
Sackett did not respond to a message seeking comment on the series’ future.
The series was announced in August 2021, and originally was slated to air on Peacock, a streaming network owned by NBCUniversal. Plans were to film in Iowa, although mostly in Central Iowa and not at the iconic movie site near Dyersville.
On June 27, NBCUniversal was awarded a $6 million grant through Destination Iowa, a state program that includes grants for tourism projects. At the time, it was the second-largest grant awarded through the $100 million program, which was funded by federal pandemic relief funding that Gov. Kim Reynolds had opposed when it was created.
Just days after the state grant was announced, however, national entertainment reports said the show would no longer air on Peacock, leaving it without a home. At the time, the state said the $6 million grant would remain dedicated to the series because Destination Iowa grants are not awarded until the project is underway.
Now that NBCUniversal has declined the grant, that $6 million goes back into the Destination Iowa pot and becomes available for other projects that have applied.
Dyersville also received a $12.5 million Destination Iowa grant for a planned baseball stadium at the movie site. Two Major League Baseball games have been played at a temporary stadium at the site. The $50 million stadium is part of a larger $80 million project that will include nine fields for youth baseball, a hotel, event space, an RV park and an amphitheater.
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Through Thursday, 18 projects had been awarded Destination Iowa grants totaling $72.1 million, leaving nearly $28 million — including the recently declined $6 million from the “Field of Dreams” series — available to applicants.
The state will continue to accept applications through Dec. 31, and awards will continue to be announced through the first portion of 2023, an agency spokeswoman said.
Cedar Rapids is among the cities that have applied for Destination Iowa funding. Recently, city officials have twice decreased their request for funds — from about $27 million to just over $6.3 million — for greenway improvements in Czech Village and the New Bohemia district. The city’s application includes the Czech Village Roundhouse, a destination park and a convertible street for events.
‘Field of Dreams’ TV series declines $6M state grant
A producer said the series no longer plans to film next year
www.thegazette.com
