Birmingham, Ala. – September 14, 2026 -- The World Baseball League (WBL) will stage its inaugural Field of Dreams Festival October 15-17 in Dyersville, Iowa, at the original movie site from the 1989 film and its adjoining stadium, marking the upstart league's first multi-day showcase event.
Hall of Famer Frank Thomas and his newly launched streaming platform, Big Eye Network, have signed on as the festival's exclusive broadcast partner, producing coverage of the weekend's marquee moments including a ceremonial first pitch thrown by Thomas.
Three-day schedule pairs family programming with competitive baseball
The festival opens Thursday, October 15, with a 6:00-9:00 PM family event at the original movie site featuring live music and appearances by former players. Friday, October 16, shifts to a doubleheader at the adjacent MLB stadium starting at 4:00 PM. Saturday, October 17, returns to the movie site at 11:00 AM for games followed by the WBL Championship and the presentation of the inaugural Mays Cup to the league's top team, capped by a stadium concert that evening.
League plays classic rules with a scoring twist to drive fan engagement
Founded in 2024 and based in Birmingham, Alabama, the WBL uses wood bats, no pitch clock, and no designated hitter, but scores each inning as worth a single run under a match-play format. Between innings, each team fields its own entertainer -- musicians or performers -- competing head-to-head for bonus runs, alongside fan challenges built into game flow.
WBL President Gaines Johnson said the league's goal is to build "a scalable, multi-market league that combines the best of baseball with live, family-friendly entertainment." The league has fielded nine teams over its first year and a half, operating from Rickwood Field, described as America's oldest ballpark.
Big Eye Network positions the deal as a distribution and monetization play
Frank Thomas, founder of Big Eye Network and operator of a team spanning sports, music, film and media, called the WBL partnership a proving ground for capturing community-driven moments through the platform's distribution and monetization tools.
The WBL is actively recruiting players, coaches, umpires, volunteers and franchise owners through open interest forms, with stated plans to expand into major U.S. markets and eventually international markets.