Kevin Costner planning to bring more minor league baseball to northern suburbs

In the 1989 film “Field of Dreams” Kevin Costner’s character Ray Kinsella, prompted by ominous assurance that “people will come,” builds a baseball field in the middle of nowhere.

Zion, Ill. isn’t exactly the middle of nowhere, but Costner is certainly hoping people will come to the 8,000-capacity minor league baseball stadium he and others are planning to build there.

A Northern League expansion team will call the as-yet-unnamed stadium home. Construction on the stadium is slated to begin this summer with the goal of getting a team on the field for the 2010 season.

According to the Web site LakeCountyBaseball.com, “The team will be

owned and run by the partnership Grand Slam Sports & Entertainment,

LLC of Deerfield, IL. Academy Award winner Kevin Costner is one of the

primary owners of the team, and Rich Ehrenreich, the founder and

long-time owner of the Schaumburg Flyers is the managing partner in the

ownership group.”

The team will play in the independent Northern League, which has teams

in Schaumburg, Joliet, Gary, Ind., Kansas City, Kan., Fargo, ND, and

Winnipeg, Canada.

Season ticket reservations will be available in about a month, according to the Web site.

In addition to “Field of Dreams,” Costner has also starred in the baseball-themed movies “Bull Durham” and “For Love of the Game.”

Any ideas for team names?