The Savannah Bananas want to bring fun to more fans. That means a bigger and bolder schedule

The dancing referees, flaming baseballs and backflipping players increase their stadium presence.

The Savannah Bananas, the exhibition baseball team that entertains with more shows than top-class competition, will visit 18 MLB stadiums and three football stadiums in 2025 as part of their “Banana Ball World Tour.” They will compete against the three other Banana Ball teams – the Party Animals, the Firefighters and the Texas Tailgaters.

The soccer stadiums on the schedule all accommodate at least 70,000 people, and Savannah Bananas owner Jesse Cole said Friday that increasing demand suggests a sold-out stadium is expected at each stadium, a big boost for a team that which previously only sold a handful of tickets. Cole’s marketing strategy, aimed at bringing “fun” to a largely traditional sport through stunts and songs, has helped turn the team into a national phenomenon. And next year Banana Ball will be even bigger.

“In our first 24 hours, over 1 million people signed up to win tickets,” said Cole, who is often seen in his trademark yellow suit and hat at games that excite audiences. “It was crazy to see the demand and excitement for Banana Ball. We hope to put on the best shows and challenge ourselves with major league soccer stadiums and new stadiums, but we believe there can be an electric atmosphere, just like great football and college football games.”

Spirits are high (school musical) after the announcement of the 2025 schedule last night🤪 pic.twitter.com/ZFjVmUWRSZ

— Savannah Bananas (@TheSavBananas) October 4, 2024

Football stadium locations include Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, which has a capacity of approximately 70,000 spectators, and Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers, which has a capacity of approximately 75,000 spectators. Clemson’s Memorial Stadium hosts approximately 81,500 spectators, which would represent the largest crowd for a Bananas game. Other tour stops announced Thursday include iconic ballparks such as Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park and Camden Yards. (The Savannah Bananas played a sold-out game at Fenway in 2024, a dream come true for Cole, he said.)

The team’s home games will continue to be played at Grayson Stadium, which has a capacity of 5,000 and is located in Savannah, Georgia.

Next year’s schedule – here in full – also calls for at least two nights at each major league stadium they play, increasing ticket availability compared to the 2024 schedule, when the Bananas only hosted one night were. That’s because the demand was there, according to Cole, who said the waiting list for tickets reached over 3 million last season.

Savannah Bananas players interact with fans before a game in 2023 (Photo: Al Bello / Getty Images)

“(It’s) definitely a big jump (in MLB venues), but we saw that at every major league stadium we had over 100,000 people on the waitlist who couldn’t get tickets, and at a capacity of 40,000, We knew there was an opportunity to do more and cater to more fans,” Cole said.

He said the excitement stems from the team’s attitude toward the “fans-first experience.” In every Banana Ball game there is a real winner and a loser and a set of rules. These rules include a two-hour time limit and fan participation. For example, if a fan catches a foul ball, it is an out, and fans can even appeal a decision. Additionally, players perform choreographed dances during each game, and one player plays on stilts.

But the bigger the bananas get, the more they tend to have a competitive element. The Bananas announced a six-team Banana Ball Championship League to begin in 2026.

The biggest announcement in Banana Ball history 🏆#bananaball #savannabananas #partyanimals #Firefighters #Tailgater @YellowTuxJesse pic.twitter.com/1OH7zWuojI

— Banana Ball (@BananaBall_) October 4, 2024

“We’ve heard two schools of thought the last few years – they’re the (Harlem) Globetrotters of baseball or, man, I wish they had a league,” Cole said. “We don’t compare ourselves to the globetrotters. We admire and respect what they’ve done for the game… but it’s become a scripted show every night, whereas our games, our shows are competitive every night. You never know who is going to win or lose.”

Cole highlighted the possibility that fans could influence the game during a championship in the future format.

“We saw the excitement at the end of the games when the entire stadium was theoretically on an exhibition game. We can’t imagine what it will be like when the stakes are even greater.”

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(Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images)