The Savannah Bananas are bringing their unique style of baseball to the football field in 2025.
Team owner Jesse Cole announced that his entertaining team, known for its lively version of the sport called Banana Ball, will play at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium, which can hold 81,000 fans, on April 26.
The Bananas will also have two games at NFL stadiums, Cole said. They will play at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, the 69,000-seat home of the Tennessee Titans, on May 10, and then at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, which holds 75,000 fans and is home to the Carolina Panthers, on June 7.
“These will be some of the biggest crowds in baseball history to see Banana Ball,” Cole told The Associated Press.
Since a full baseball field won’t fit in a football stadium, especially at Clemson, the Bananas plan to put up netting at least 50 feet high to make it harder to hit a home run in the shortest part of the outfield.
Cole, always a promoter, pointed out that this barrier will be much taller than the Green Monster at Fenway Park, which is 37 feet high. The Bananas intend to use the unique setup for comedic effect.
“In Banana Ball, we like to make things a little different,” said Cole, known for wearing yellow tuxedos to games. “We’re going to have fun with it.”
The Bananas, originally a summer league team for college players, have become a touring phenomenon with their carnival-style game, featuring choreographed dance routines, players on stilts, and quirky rules, like counting outs when a fan catches a foul ball.
They even have their own exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
