Less than two months after the Chicago White Sox won the first major league game played a few rows of corn away from Iowa’s iconic “Field of Dreams” movie set, a venture led by Sox Hall of Famer Frank Thomas has bought a controlling interest in the company that owns the property, the company announced Thursday.

       The company, Go the Distance Baseball, did not reveal the price of the transaction, which includes the movie set in Dyersville, Iowa, the nearby field where the Sox and Yankees played Aug. 12 and surrounding property envisioned as a center for youth baseball tournaments.

       “We have people here that really want to make this place bigger and better than what it is so far, and it’s tremendous already,” Thomas said during a news conference on the property.

       Former Chicago White Sox first baseman Frank Thomas talks to the White Sox Amateur City Elite 14U team before playing a game against New York’s DREAM at the Field of Dreams motion picture site in Dyersville, Iowa, on Aug. 11, 2021. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

       Thomas will be CEO of the venture, called This Is Heaven LLC, while former Sox executive and Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Dan Evans will be chief operating officer, the company said.

       Another investor is Rick Heidner, whom Thomas described as his partner and friend.

       Heidner is the owner of Gold Rush Gaming, which operates video gambling terminals. He had planned to build a horse track and casino in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park two years ago, only to lose the opportunity to buy state land needed for the project after a Tribune investigation revealed long-standing dealings with a convicted bookie and a banker with alleged mob ties.

       The White Sox Amateur City Elite (ACE) 14U team walk on the outfield before playing a game against New York’s DREAM at the Field of Dreams motion picture site in Dyersville, Iowa on Aug. 11, 2021. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

       A spokesman for This Is Heaven said Heidner’s primary business is real estate development, and that he would bring that acumen to the Field of Dreams. The project will not include any gambling, he said.

       At the news conference, Heidner praised Thomas and expressed gratitude for their more than 10-year friendship.

       “I always wondered why God put us together,” he said. “I was always blessed to have him become my friend. But now, today, I actually really realize why He put us together.”

       The property began its shift from low-key tourist attraction to ambitious, commercialized venture when Denise Stillman, a health care consultant and entrepreneur from Oak Lawn, led a group of investors who purchased the set and surrounding 193 acres in 2011 with the idea of turning it into a mecca for youth baseball tournaments.

       The company fought off lawsuits from neighboring property owners unhappy with the idea of more traffic and visitors in farm country. But though it won in court, it struggled to find investors who could fund a $75 million plan to build 21 youth fields, dormitories and an indoor training center.

       Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, who will serve as the CEO of Go the Distance Baseball, speaks during a press conference at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, on Sept. 30, 2021. (Jessica Reilly/Telegraph Herald/AP)

       The spokesman for the new owners said that remains the vision for the redevelopment.

       Stillman also launched the idea of playing a major league game at the site. She died of cancer in 2018, just before the deal was finalized.

       Following the success of August’s game, won by Sox shortstop Tim Anderson’s walk-off home run, Major League Baseball announced that the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds will play at the field next year.

       jkeilman@chicagotribune.com

       Twitter @JohnKeilman

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