INDIANAPOLIS — The Savannah Bananas will play in front of some of their biggest crowds ever in 2025, just not in Indianapolis.
The Bananas announced their schedule for next season with their annual "draft" video Thursday night. The 2025 tour includes weekends at 18 major league ballparks, two games at NFL stadiums and a first-ever stop at Clemson University's 81,000-seat Memorial Stadium.
But Hoosiers who want to catch a game of "Banana Ball" will have to travel.
After bringing their world tour through Indianapolis the past two summers, the Circle City is not on the 2025 schedule.
It's not for a lack of enthusiasm.
Two months after announcing their first stop at Victory Field in October 2022, the Bananas added a second date to the visit. Those crowds in 2023 were the largest the Bananas had played in front of to date. Fans even had to wait out a power outage to welcome the team to Indiana.
The Bananas brought their antics back to "The Vic" in 2024, again putting on their world famous show in front of a sold-out crowd, but they won't be back next summer.
One fan from Illinois who traveled to Indianapolis to see the Bananas told 13News, "It's almost like a football tailgate atmosphere, and I love that."
Aside from three dates to start the season and 30 games at their home stadium in Savannah, the Bananas have gone big time, playing only in major league venues.
Fans willing to hit the road from Indy to check out Banana Ball can catch the team in St. Louis, Cincinnati and at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, home of the Chicago White Sox.
(NOTE: The video at the top of this story is from the last time the Bananas were playing in Indianapolis in 2024.)
Baseball in a football stadium
The stops at Clemson, as well as the NFL homes of the Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers, will present unique situations for the Bananas as they take their game out of the ballpark.
While Clemson will reconfigure the Memorial Stadium field to include a dirt infield, the planned layout will create an outfield wall that is far closer than traditional stadiums. To keep the games from turning into a "home run derby," Bananas founder Jesse Cole said the team plans to construct a 50-foot-high net — 13 feet taller than Boston's famed Green Monster — to keep balls in the park.
“In Banana Ball, we like to make things a little different,” Cole told the Associated Press. “We're going to have fun with it.”
The games in football stadiums, plus more dates in MLB parks has the Bananas dreaming of topping 2 million fans next summer after welcoming more than a million fans through the gates in 2024.
How to get tickets
You can sign up for the ticket lottery list now, so do it while you can—the ticket lottery closes on Nov. 1, 2024.
A random drawing will take place two months before the event. If you are selected, you'll get the chance to buy a ticket.
Tickets start at $35 when bought through the Savannah Bananas website. VIB Experience tickets start at $100. (VIB means "very important banana," if you were curious).
What is "Banana Ball"?
The Bananas have taken social media by storm in recent years, with circus-like entertainment and shenanigans. Some describe the performances as "the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball."
Titled "Banana Ball," the rules of a typical baseball game are slightly changed to enhance fan experiences. Rules such as no bunting, a two-hour time limit and automatic outs if a fan catches a ball are all part of the fan experience.
The immersive experience started in October 2015 with a goal of making baseball more fun and with fan interactions as the number one priority.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)