Banana Ball is coming to the foothills of the Smokies in 2026: Here’s how to see America’s new baseball sensation
In a matter of speaking, the Savannah Bananas are coming to the Smokies after all.
Back when the Tennessee Smokies were in their final days at their Kodak facility and preparing to move back to Knoxville in the brand new and spectacular Covenant Health Park, we had a tip that the Savannah Bananas were sniffing around the old stadium, maybe considering locating an expansion team there.
So, in the summer of 2024, we reached out to a Bananas spokesperson – a title that has to look good on a business card – who debunked that rumor. So, that was that. But here we are now folks, the Banana Ball dream is real and alive and coming to East Tennessee – although for an admittedly limited engagement.
Banana Ball is not coming to Kodak. It is – however- going to be played in the Smokies’ new stadium – Covenant Health Park – and somewhat more impressively in the University of Tennessee’s 100,000 seat football mecca, Neyland Stadium.
What is Banana Ball?
The Savannah Bananas is essentially a barnstorming baseball team that leans on the traditions of old-time baseball promoters who used gimmicks to get butts in the seats. They are, in other words, the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. The players and the umpires dance. They do tricks like catching pop ups while doing back flips or dribbling the ball off the turf before throwing it to first base. Banana Ball has a unique set of rules, including:
- No Bunting
- Batters can steal first
- Whoever wins the inning gets a point, the team with the most points wins
- Two-hour time limit
- No walks: After ball four, the batter takes off at a sprint. Every position player outside the pitcher and catcher must touch the ball before they can try to get the runner out
It’s wild, it’s silly and even outlandish. And – most importantly – it’s wildly successful though it does rub some baseball purists the wrong way.
The Bananas, who began playing against the Party Animals – the Washington Generals to their Globetrotters – and then The Firefighters, have created three more teams and are launching the Banana Ball League. The Texas Tailgaters started last season and the Indianapolis Clowns and the Loco Beach Coconuts will start next year. The teams are selling out large stadiums across the country and the $35 tickets are so much in demand, you have to enter a lottery just for a chance to buy them.
Can I get tickets to one of the Knoxville venues?
The answer is maybe, probably and yes.
First of all, you have to enter the lottery on the Savannah Bananas website. Entry for that closes on Oct. 31, 2025, even though the games do not occur until Memorial Day weekend 2026. As I said before demand is great. The Covenant Park game will absolutely sell out. I suspect that the Neyland Stadium will as well, though with a baseball configuration, I assume they will be able to fit more than 100,000 people in that thing.
If tickets are hard to get, why did I say “yes”? Because a lot of the lottery winners are looking for a payday. They take the very reasonably priced tickets available through the lottery and put them up on secondary markets at an exorbitant markup. If you have the money and are willing to spend it, you can absolutely go to one of the Knoxville games. But be prepared to pay through the nose. Also be prepared to protect yourself. There has been a problem with secondary tickets hitting the market. Scammers will try to get you. Make sure you utilize all possible internet purchase protections and pay the extra for the insurance if available.
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If I win the lottery which venue should I choose?
Always pick the baseball stadium to watch baseball. You’ll be able to see everything better if you are in Covenant Health Park. The park will be packed, but with considerably fewer people than Neyland. The big football stadium would be fun just to say you did it. But it wasn’t built for watching baseball and you’ll end up catching a lot of the action on the jumbotron. I suspect, however, that there will be a lot of cool guests at the football stadium so that might make it worth it.
What do you think about the Savannah Bananas coming to East Tennessee? Let us know in the comments and on the socials!