On April 26th, the Savannah Bananas will face the Party Animals in front of a sellout Death Valley crowd. The event is an exciting feature of the Banana Ball World Tour, which is set to continue throughout the summer. The sellout is incredible, but expected, as the Bananas announced a lottery system back in October to better facilitate the massive anticipation for the event. Fans came in droves to enter the lottery, and on January 20th each person was assigned a time slot to purchase up to six tickets on January 28th. These guidelines were placed to best distribute tickets for such a highly anticipated event.
By 3pm, the Bananas announced that the game was fully sold out. The 81,000 seat venue will shatter the Bananas previous single game attendance record of 45,000, set in Citizens Bank Park. The total eclipses the collective attendance from their inaugural season, where they saw just over 80,000 attendees across 22 games.
Once a traditional Minor League team, the Bananas have completed one of the greatest re-brands in history these last ten years. Purchased by Jesse Cole in 2015, the team created the sport “bannaball,” which is derived from baseball but with 11 genius modifications. For example, bunting is not allowed, games have a two hour time limit, and mound visits are prohibited. These changes create a more face paced and entertaining product, and the Bananas capitalize with Globetrotter-esque shenanigans. The athletes implementation of trick plays and dance routines into real competition is amazing to see.
The Bananas performed in Clemson this past year, scrimmaging the baseball team in Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The game marked the first time the Bananas faced off against a collegiate baseball program, and the spectacle certainly did not disappoint. The charming backflips, pop up catches, and dance routines sparked enough interest to make history with this unprecedented sellout.
The game will be the Bananas first time playing in a college stadium, a feat owner Jesse Cole understands will be quite difficult; “This is the biggest challenge in Banana Ball history, but with Banana Nation behind us, we know it’s going to be an electric atmosphere. Our team can’t wait to run down the hill and experience the crowd on April 26.” Cole’s ambition and risk taking is what led to such an unconventionally beautiful game, and testing the sport in a college atmosphere should further the success. Placing a college football atmosphere onto Banana Ball will be one of the more iconic and unique experiences Clemson has ever offered, but will not come without its adjustments.
Logistically, Clemson University is making numerous accommodations to make this game as playable as possible in a football stadium. They are assigning 50 foot nets to protect fans from foul balls, along with some backdrops and padding laid out around the field.
While the University is doing everything in their power to make this field resemble a baseball diamond, some accommodations will have to be made. The left field wall will be 199 feet from home plate, 325 feet to right field and 363 feet to right center. The shorter field offers a massive advantage to right handed hitters, adding another interesting quirk to the game. While the situation won’t be perfect, the venue has plenty of experience altering its layout for non football events. Georgia Strait, Elton John and the Rolling Stones have all performed at the Valley.
Overall, it will be incredibly exciting to see the Bananas perform at Clemson’s iconic football stadium. Hopefully the Bananas can give 110% as they put on the most unique performance Death Valley has ever seen.
