Savannah Bananas Announce 2025 Schedule; Tampa Bay Game Moved to Raymond James Stadium
Will include four stops at football stadiums and 17 weekends at MLB parks
Posted On: October 31, 2024 By :The Savannah Bananas, a traveling baseball exhibition, have adjusted their 2025 tour schedule with its Tampa Bay stop moving to Raymond James Stadium from Tropicana Field after the venue was damaged by Hurricane Milton.
The Bananas have hosted five sold-out games with over 50,000 total fans during the last two World Tours (2023, 2024) at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
“We could not be more excited for the Savannah Bananas to ‘Stay in the Bay’,” said Rob Higgins, executive director at the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. “We’re thankful to our friends at the Tampa Sports Authority for their quick collaboration and to Jesse Cole and the Savannah Bananas for being such committed partners in keeping the World Tour in our region as we continue to heal from the significant effects of this hurricane season. The Bananas have such a great way of putting smiles on fans’ faces that we know the night of March 15th can play an important role in helping Tampa Bay’s continued recovery and rejuvenation.”
The updated schedule for the Bananas includes weekends at 17 Major League ballparks, three games at NFL stadiums and a stop at Clemson University’s 81,000-seat Memorial Stadium
“Raymond James Stadium is proud to carry on the tradition of “Banana Ball” here in Tampa Bay.” said Eric Hart, president and chief executive officer of the Tampa Sports Authority. “Due to damages at Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton, the TSA and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission worked closely with the Savannah Bananas in converting Banana Ball into their first NFL stadium game, keeping the event and tourism impact in the Tampa Bay region. Their unique take on baseball will translate well into the field dimensions at Raymond James Stadium”
The game at Clemson’s “Death Valley” will take place on April 26. The Bananas will play at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, the 69,000-seat home of the Tennessee Titans, on May 10, followed by 75,000-seat Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, home of the Carolina Panthers, on June 7. The tour opens February 1 at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona.
Clemson plans to install a baseball diamond, complete with a dirt infield, on the grass field at Death Valley. The stadiums in Nashville and Charlotte, which have artificial turf surfaces, will paint in the basepaths and other features to make them look more like ballparks. The games in the football stadiums will feature a 50-foot-high netting to make it a bit tougher to hit a home run in the shorter confines of a football stadium, as a regular baseball field won’t fit.
The Bananas also will headline 18 weekends at Major League stadiums in 2025, including their first trips to Yankee Stadium in New York, Camden Yards in Baltimore and Truist Park in Atlanta. The team also will host 30 games in their home base of Savannah, Georgia, where they were founded in 2016. They play at 5,000-seat Grayson Stadium, which opened in 1926.
The Bananas started as summer league team for college players and in recent years have taken their show on the road with choreographed dance routines, players on stilts and creative rules such as outs counting when a fan catches a foul ball in the stands.
The Bananas and their affiliated teams, the Party Animals and Firefighters, have drawn more than a million fans this year. Cole says the goal for next year is two million. The Texas Tailgaters will join the Party Animals and Firefighters with plans to start the Banana Ball Championship League, with two more squads coming in 2026.
2025 Savannah Bananas Schedule
February 1-2: Mesa, Arizona (Sloan Park)
February 6-8: Glendale, Arizona (Camelback Ranch)
February 14-16: Fort Myers, Florida (JetBlue Park)
February 21-23: Savannah, Georgia (Grayson Stadium)
March 1-2: Miami, Florida (loanDepot Park)
March 7-9: Savannah, Georgia (Grayson Stadium)
March 15-16: Tampa, Florida (Raymond James Stadium)
March 21-23: Savannah, Georgia (Grayson Stadium)
March 29-30: Atlanta, Georgia (Truist Park)
April 4-5: St. Louis, Missouri (Busch Stadium)
April 11-13: Savannah, Georgia (Grayson Stadium)
April 17-18: Savannah, Georgia (Grayson Stadium)
April 26: Clemson, South Carolina (Memorial Stadium)
May 2-4: Savannah, Georgia (Grayson Stadium)
May 10: Nashville, Tennessee (Nissan Stadium)
May 23-24: Kansas City, Missouri (Kauffman Stadium)
May 30-31: Anaheim, California (Angel Stadium)
June 7: Charlotte, North Carolina (Bank of America Stadium)
June 13-14: Cincinnati, Ohio (Great American Ball Park)
June 19-21: Savannah, Georgia (Grayson Stadium)
June 27-28: Washington, D.C. (Nationals Park)
July 5-6: Boston, Massachusetts (Fenway Park)
July 10-12: Savannah, Georgia (Grayson Stadium)
July 26-27: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Citizens Bank Park)
August 1-2: Baltimore, Maryland (Camden Yards)
August 9-10: Denver, Colorado (Coors Field)
August 15-16: Chicago, Illinois (Guaranteed Rate Field)
August 21-23: Savannah, Georgia (Grayson Stadium)
August 29-30: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (PNC Park)
September 5-6: San Diego, California (Petco Park)
September 13-14: New York City (Yankee Stadium)
September 19-20: Seattle, Washington (T-Mobile Park)
September 26-27: Houston, Texas (Minute Maid Park)