Kevin Costner’s field of reality

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Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Costner, whose roles in the movies ‘Field of Dreams’ and ‘Bull Durham’ have forever linked him with baseball, is part of an ownership group that will bring a Northern League team and a new stadium to Zion, Ill., in the summer of 2010.

‘I’ve seen many opportunities over the years to be involved in baseball projects, but this one is really special,’ Costner said in a press release. ‘The location, the people involved, and the chance to offer families in Zion and the surrounding communities a quaint and affordable setting for minor league baseball means everything. Like that unforgettable movie line says, ‘This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again. Play Ball!’ ‘

Costner’s love of baseball goes beyond his roles in movies. A graduate of Cal State Fullerton, Costner developed a friendship with former Titans Coach Augie Garrido, who is now at Texas, and used to work out with the Titans baseball team on occasion. He has also traveled to Omaha to watch Fullerton play in the College World Series.

Details of the new Zion stadium, which will be located in Lake County, just south of the Wisconsin border and minutes northeast of Gurnee’s Six Flags Great America and the Gurnee Mills Mall, will follow in the coming weeks, but the project is expected to generate 300 permanent jobs.

The independent Northern League currently has six teams: Schaumburg, Ill.; Joliet, Ill.; Gary, Ind.; Kansas City, Kan.; Fargo, N.D.; and Winnipeg, Canada.

-- Mike DiGiovanna