Savannah is central to the Bananas' future. What to expect from the baseball phenoms.
This commentary is written by opinion columnist Adam Van Brimmer.
For Savannah’s top banana, Jesse Cole, his greatest professional fear “is becoming predictable, irrelevant.”
Cole makes that comment in reference to the fan experience at Savannah Bananas’ games. But it is Cole’s unpredictable nature - he wants to literally change baseball as we know it rather than just rake in dollars with what is now a tried-and-true formula - that scares the peels off the bunches of Savannahians who have gone bananas for the Bananas.
Ever since Cole folded the Coastal Plain League team and announced the shift to a “World Tour” model, local fans have expressed angst about the Bananas’ future plans. The team is playing many more games outside Savannah in 2023 than in their home ballpark, Grayson Stadium - and with very public ambitions to play in Major League ballparks in 2024.
Even as the touring Bananas play more home games this year than the college team did during its seasons, worries persist. The Bananas are a phenomenon, likened to the Harlem Globetrotters or Cirque du Soleil. And like those highly successful businesses, the Bananas’ earning potential is not just local but global.
Cole has been hesitant to detail his long-range vision and how Savannah fits into those plans. He freely offers hints, though, and all indications are that Savannah is central to the team’s future.
At the risk of engaging in reckless speculation, here’s what I anticipate is Cole’s endgame.
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He will expand Grayson Stadium
Cole is the first baseball man in decades to embrace the iconic ballpark. The last two owners of the Sand Gnats tried to get the city to build a new stadium. The refusal led to the team taking its balls and bats and going to Columbia, South Carolina.
For the Bananas, Grayson is part of the schtick, and there’s plenty of room to add seats. As detailed in a recent news story, legislation currently working its way through the Georgia General Assembly would give the city and the Bananas the ability to negotiate a 20-year lease - and give Cole the incentive to finance a stadium expansion on his own.
Grayson Stadium to expand? Proposed state law change could give Savannah Bananas options
By the time Grayson celebrates its centennial in 2026, it will seat 7,000-plus spectators. And that will lead to …
The formation of a banana ball league
The barnstorming Bananas have a designated foil - the Party Animals, a sister traveling team that is to the Bananas what the Washington Generals are to the Globetrotters.
The Bananas don’t play the Party Animals every night, though. Of the 80-plus games on the 2023 World Tour, 22 are against “challengers” - alumni or all-star squads and minor league teams.
“The other teams we’ve played, they say banana ball was the most fun they’ve ever had playing baseball,” Cole said. “The big test for us this year is in bringing in more challenger-type teams.”
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According to Cole, he frequently receives inquires from entrepreneurs in other cities, including several in the Southeast, about forming their own banana ball team. Asked directly if he envisions a banana ball league, Cole said “it’s an interesting concept and exciting for us to look at.”
A banana ball league is low risk for the Bananas. They already play 30-plus home games as part of the World Tour, and being the anchor of a regional league that plays in the summer months would still allow them to go on tour in the spring and fall.
As the banana ball league grows, the Bananas would adjust their schedule. In the meantime …
The Bananas go global
The Bananas will play in Major League Baseball stadiums starting in 2024. The ticket demand this year - they’ve gone to a lottery system - proves they can fill up the lower deck of even 35,000-plus seat ballparks.
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Cole has said publicly he wants to play at Fenway Park in Boston, seating capacity 37,755. Atlanta’s Truist Park is another no-brainer, and the Bananas have already been a big draw in South Florida and Kansas City. The barnstorming team will introduce banana ball to the West Coast later this year.
From those markets, the Bananas can look overseas. The Japanese and Koreans are seam-heads. A Latin American tour makes sense.
Will banana ball lose its allure over time? Perhaps. For the foreseeable future, though, the Bananas are an emerging brand without a rival in the sports entertainment industry. Their success will benefit what Cole considers his No. 1 fans: Savannahians.
Contact Van Brimmer at avanbrimmer@savannahnow.com or via Twitter @SavannahOpinion.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Bananas future to expand Grayson Stadium, start pro league
