In a groundbreaking event on April 26, the Savannah Bananas brought their “traveling circus known as Banana Ball” to Clemson’s Memorial Stadium, commonly called Death Valley. The stadium, transformed into a baseball field for the occasion, hosted a sellout crowd of 81,000 fans, with all tickets gone within just three to four hours.
Known as the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball, the Bananas had previously played in Major League Baseball parks but had never filled a venue of this size.
Dabo Swinney and Jesse Cole Celebrate Historic Moment with Bananas at College Football Stadium
The game drew an unprecedented sellout crowd of 81,000 fans, with all tickets gone within three to four hours. Memorial Stadium, usually home to Clemson football, transformed into a baseball field just two days after the Tigers’ spring football game on April 5. The left field fence was set a short 190 feet from home plate, protected by a towering 50-foot net.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, who played an active role in the event, called hosting the Bananas at Memorial Stadium “special.”
“Well, it’s special. I mean, this is uh this is what they do. This is the fun to be a part of a first college football stadium, and it’s a sellout,” Swinney said.
The Savannah Bananas sold out of all 81,000 tickets for their game tonight in Clemson’s football stadium. It’s the team’s largest audience ever (and the second football stadium they’ve sold out this year). pic.twitter.com/N7MsKakewb
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) April 26, 2025
Before the game began, Swinney joined the Bananas, riding their buses around the stadium and leading the “home team” down Clemson’s iconic hill, a tradition deeply rooted in Clemson football lore.
Jesse Cole, the Bananas’ charismatic owner, described the moment as a dream realized.
“You never could dream this big. 81,000 guys hope to play Major League Baseball,” Cole said. “This was a dream that never was thought imaginable.”
He added, echoing Walt Disney.
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible,” Cole said.
During the pregame festivities, Cole fired up the crowd by calling Memorial Stadium the “home of the greatest football team in the country.”
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The atmosphere inside the stadium was electric, fueled by the Bananas’ signature brand of entertainment — nonstop music, dancing players and umpires, trick plays, a batter on stilts, and sing-alongs with the fans.
Even the Clemson band joined the Bananas’ band for a fast-paced halftime show, sprinting on and off the field. C.J. Spiller, former Clemson football star, danced at home plate, adding another layer of excitement.
The Bananas defeated the Party Animals, their usual opponents, 4-3. Fans were deeply involved, catching foul balls in the air for outs and participating in the chaos that turned Memorial Stadium into a baseball party for the ages.
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