Thursday night marked the biggest night in Banana Ball history, as Savannah Bananas owner Jesse Cole tells it.
The 2025 Banana Ball World Tour City Draft involved far more than who and on what Banana Ball team players will play. Cole talked expansion, bigger audiences and major upgrades to historic Grayson Stadium.
In 2025, the Bananas will encompass four teams with the addition of the Texas Tailgaters, and not only will they play in 18 Major League Baseball stadiums, they will take over fields in three football stadiums―two of them in the NFL and Clemson University’s Death Valley.
But that’s not all. In 2026 Banana Ball will grow into a six-team league with a 60-game nationwide schedule.
And there’s more. With Savannah City Council’s approval last Thursday of renovations to Grayson Stadium, Cole said the changes will be a game-changer for hometown fans next season.
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“It will be the best Banana Ball experience we have ever delivered in Savannah,” Cole said in an interview before Thursday’s draft.
The draft brought a close-to-gameday atmosphere at Grayson Stadium. The right field grass was filled with about 2,000 seats that were mostly full. The event sold 3,900 tickets, and bleachers down the right field line had few empty seats at the draft’s 7 p.m. start.
The announcement of Death Valley as a destination was accompanied by members of Clemson’s marching band. When Nashville’s Nissan Stadium was announced, Morgan Wallen’s Broadway Girls played with a coordinated line dance from Banana players.
The Bananas announced 30 home games, and home opening weekend is slated for Feb. 21.
Background:On Our Radar: Savannah Bananas hope to “shock the world” with big announcements at Oct. 3 draft
Bigger crowds and more teams
Next year’s increase to 18 MLB stadiums is a bump from the five visited last year. The NFL stadiums set for Banana Ball in 2025 are Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN, home to the Tennessee Titans; and Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, home to the Carolina Panthers.
The addition of football stadiums brings the potential for bigger crowds―Clemson’s Memorial Stadium has a capacity over 80,000―and football stadiums are known to have some of the best atmospheres in sports, Cole said. But the football stadiums also provide an opportunity to lean into Banana Ball’s novelty: the ability to change the game.
Adapting Banana Ball to a football field could mean altering outfield fence distances or field dimensions, changes that could make the games more exciting by bringing more homeruns or closer outfield seats, Cole said.
“They are the largest stadiums in the country, and we are trying to entertain and take care of the most amount of fans we can,” Cole said.
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The announcements from this year’s draft are products of years of dreams and planning. Every decision the Bananas make is intentional, Cole said. The addition of new teams dates back at least to seeing the success of the Party Animals, the second Banana Ball team.
The location for the Texas Tailgaters was rooted in attention to markets Banana Ball performs well in, and what is one aspect of the sports experience Texas does well? Tailgating, Cole said.
“We have this big vision for the greatest pregame in sports that we are going to build there,” Cole said.
A 2025 championship, then a 2026 league
The fourth team makes the final piece of yet another addition to Banana Ball in 2025: a championship tournament with games at Grayson Stadium. Cole dubbed the season-ending event as a Tour Championship.
That championship is a lead up to the first-ever professional Banana Ball league slated for 2026. The origins of a potential league have roots in Banana Ball’s inception, Cole said.
Cole said he saw how Banana Ball had the potential for every game to be competitive, unique and new each night.
“To do that you need to have more teams competing against each other, creating storylines,” Cole said. “That was the vision.”
Take a look:Highlights from the Savannah Bananas Banana Ball game at Fenway Park in Boston
Savannah still home
In the early Thursday afternoon interview, about six hours before the draft began, Cole doubled down on the Bananas’ commitment to Savannah. At the heart of that commitment are coming upgrades to Grayson Stadium that include an all-turf field, a new video board and enhanced lighting.
A turf field allows for games year-round, and Bananas’ visits to stadiums of major league caliber showed the possibilities for the fan experience. Stadiums with greater technology allow for livestreaming performances on the jumbotron and shutting off stadium lights to create unique moments such as the show of phone lights at Fenway Park.
More:Savannah Bananas bring Banana Ball World Tour home to Savannah for final time this season
The renovations will come through a combination of already dedicated Special Local Option Sales Tax funds and funds from the Bananas’ Fans First Entertainment LLC. The improvements come on the heels of a $2 million investment in added seating last year.
“I think one of the misconceptions from the community is that we are leaving Savannah now,” Cole said. “No. We are as committed more than ever now, and we hope our actions are showing that.”
Evan Lasseter is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@gannett.com.
