They’ve built it, and now finally, they will come.
Friday marks a very special occasion on the Major League Baseball calendar as the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees square off at the specially constructed Field Of Dreams ballpark in Dyersville, Iowa.
Smack bang in the middle of nowhere, fans of the movie will recognise the iconic corn crop that surrounds the field in what is also a potential playoff preview between two of the top contenders in the American League.
This sure-fire nostalgia trip got us thinking about some of the best sporting venues to grace our screen, so whether real or fictional, here’s a look at some of the best.
The Sandlot
If you’re a ‘90s kid and you haven’t seen The Sandlot, you really missed out on a good piece of your childhood.
The plot is basically described in the title as fifth-grader Scotty Smalls tries to make friends in his new town of Los Angeles with a bunch of kids at the local sandlot diamond.
The movie really plays on baseball being “America’s pastime”, largely through the use of the rugged, worn-out diamond the kids play on in the suburbs of LA.
Chain-link fence, broken down cars, worn-out base paths, and of course, mysterious neighbor Mr Merlte, everything about The Sandlot screams ‘Murica in the 1960s.
Remember the Titans
This movie is Hall of Fame in our book.
We’re willing to bet you spent a day or two watching this during high school, so we shouldn’t need to explain the Titans’ come-from-behind victory to win the state championship.
Played Berry College in Georgia, the final game has a nice grassroots kind of feel to it with local fans packing the bleachers. If we could go and toss the ol’ pigskin anywhere in the world, this ground would be high on the list.
The Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch
In terms of fiction, the Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch is the stuff of dreams.
With mountains cascading in the background, we get our first glimpse of the stadium in the Philosopher’s Stone when Harry famously swallows the golden snitch, much to the delight of the Gryffindor faithful.
The stadium looks a little bigger (and a lot darker) in the later films, but the way the stands overlook the ground really adds to the overall atmosphere.
The Air Bud Basketball Court
Okay, so it’s not a stadium or a field, but the dilapidated half-court in the first Air Bud movie is well worth a spot on this list.
If you haven’t seen it, the first film in the series is basically about a golden retriever named Buddy that can play basketball, which sounds kind of childish. But for a Disney movie, Air Bud has stood the test of time and even features a memorable tear-jerker moment.
As far as the court goes, who wouldn’t want to shoot some hoops in abandoned lot that overlooks a lake? The nostalgia of it all.
The Office Warehouse
Forget the ‘Flu Game’ or Kobe’s retirement, the greatest basketball game occurred in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Dunder Mifflin’s warehouse court had a certain blue-collar vibe to it that you just won’t find at your local indoor venue or down the road at the park.
Unfortunately, Michael Scott had himself an off day when he took on the warehouse team, but what we wouldn’t give to go back in time and watch one of the greatest hoopers of our generation.
Happy Gilmore
Unlike others on this list, the golf courses used in the filming of Happy Gilmore are very much real.
The Swaneset Bay Resort and Country Club in British Columbia was used for the majority of the scenes, while the famous fight between Barker and Happy was filmed at Pitt Meadows.
If we’re actually allowed to travel anytime soon, we suggest you add at least one of these to your bucket list.
The Longest Yard Prison
We’d love to rattle on about Adam Sandler, but we’re talking the 1974 edition of The Longest Yard starring Burt Reynolds here.
Basically, this is a movie about prison football, but the way the field is designed with hundreds of prisoners surrounding the field is pretty cool.
If you’re a real diehard of the film, you can go and visit the museum at Georgia State Prison.
Springfield Downs
There are a ton of great choices when it comes to The Simpsons, but we have to give it to Springfield Downs, the town’s dingy dog, and horse racing track.
We get our first look at the venue nice and early in the pilot entitled “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” when Homer bets on 99-1 shot Santa’s Little Helper.
It also made a number of appearances in “Saddlesore Galactica”, the episode that involves The Simpsons owning a racehorse named Duncan (and a very catchy song about jockey’s might we add).
Overall, Springfield Downs looks like a great place to have a punt!
The Wrestler Arena
Easily one of the most underrated sports dramas of all-time.
The Wrestler was regarded as one of the best films made in 2008 as it detailed the life of Randy “The Ram” Robinson, an ageing professional wrestler desperately trying to keep his career alive whilst battling substance abuse problems and a messy relationship with his daughter.
We won’t spoil it for you, but if you’re a wrestling fan, “The Ram’s” last match was filmed in a Ring of Honor ring and has serious ECW house show vibes to it.
Field of Dreams
The debate over the best baseball movie is highly subjective, but if you ask any fan they’ll likely tell you that 1989 smash-hit Field Of Dreams owns a special place in their heart.
The film hits home on the nostalgia front after Ray Kinsella, played by Kevin Costner, builds a baseball field amongst the corn crop on his family farm in Iowa.
The field in the movie was actually built on a property in Dyersville and still attracts thousands of fans to this day.
The actual field used on Thursday, however, has been purpose-built right next to the movie set after the MLB announced the White Sox and Yankees would square off back in 2019.