Get ready, Pensacola. For two days in May, Blue Wahoos Stadium will be going Bananas.
The Blue Wahoos excitedly learned Thursday that Pensacola’s bayfront ballpark was chosen as part of the Savannah Bananas, Banana Ball World Tour 2027. The Blue Wahoos inclusion was part of a collaborative effort with Pensacola Sports and Innisfree Hotels to become one of the coveted 75 cities on the upcoming Banana Ball schedule.
The games on May 21-22, 2027 in Pensacola will feature the Loco Beach Coconuts against the Indianapolis Clowns at Blue Wahoos Stadium. They are among the six teams in the Banana Ball Championship League.
The other teams include the original Savannah Bananas and their initial opponents, the Party Animals, who are now part of the group of six under the special Banana Ball brand.
A much-anticipated, grand reveal announcement for 2027 venues aired on the Banana Ball City Selection Show, which was broadcast at 5 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2 and the Banana Ball YouTube Channel.
“I think this is very exciting for the community,” said Blue Wahoos owner Quint Studer. “They (Savannah Bananas organization) do so much research to show how many people from around an area come from out of town into these games and impact the hotels, the restaurants and so forth. So, I think it’s a really, nice economic engine for our community as well.”
Tickets are only available through the Ticket Lottery List on BananaBall.com, which is now open to register through October 31. The Blue Wahoos will not have any tickets available through their outlets. Tickets for Banana Ball games are priced at $35, $45 and $65 depending on seating and stadium size. There are no hidden fees.
But all interested fans must go through the official BananaBall.com site to become part of the lottery. Any third-party ticket site like StubHub, Ticketmaster and others are not valid tickets.
“Bringing Banana Ball to Pensacola is a tremendous opportunity to showcase our city to a national audience,” said Jason Libbert, the new president and CEO of Pensacola Sports, who was part of the Pensacola Pelicans staff 25 years ago when professional baseball returned to the community.
“Through our partnership with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Innisfree Hotels, we’re welcoming fans who travel to experience Banana Ball in person while introducing countless more viewers to Pensacola through television and online coverage,” he said.
High demand for tickets in recent years led the Bananas to develop a lottery system to obtain seats. This year, more than 200 cities and 10 foreign countries submitted requests to become part of the Banana Ball World Tour.
For the Blue Wahoos, there is a unique connection. The first time the Savannah Bananas played out of town occurred on March 26-27, 2021 at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, Alabama, after the venue was chosen to host the inaugural “Banana Ball One City World Tour.”
Following those two sold-out, standing room only games, Jesse Cole, founder and owner of the Savannah Bananas, along with his entire staff, traveled to Pensacola two days later to join with the Blue Wahoos staff at an informative seminar at the SCI Building on Garden Street.
“I really appreciate Jesse Cole. I asked Jesse if he would come here and do a workshop,” said Studer, who first met Cole when the Savannah Bananas were part of the Coastal Plain League, an independent, summer collegiate, wood bat league. “Ever since then, I think it’s been really neat to see all that has evolved and how pure Jesse has stayed to his mission.”
The Bananas visit to Mobile and Cole’s future vision prompted a story in the Savannah Morning News, quoting Studer as an affiliated, Minor League Baseball owner, on how the Bananas had positively impacted a game experience. He praised Cole for his innovative, breakthrough methods to create a family-friendly, memorable experience.
“I think Jesse always appreciated the fact that I came out very strong, early on, to support him,” Studer said. “I think this will be so great for our community. I’m glad (Cole) has got a little nostalgia in him… that he remembered Pensacola. My understanding is that he remembered Pensacola when he was here five years ago and wanted to come back.”
From 2021, the Savannah Bananas began a meteoric rise in the sports fandom world that has led to visits to iconic baseball venues across America, including Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and NFL stadiums like Raymond James Stadium in Tampa and Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
Last year, Banana Ball was played at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans and Doak Campbell Stadium at Florida State, which was converted to become a baseball diamond for the two day event.
“It’s a full circle moment for us, “ said Blue Wahoos president Jonathan Griffith. “When we did the cross-training here with our staffs, I think both of us were able to take away things from that session, which was really cool.
“At that time, (Bananas organization) were not sure how much further they were going to be able to go in terms of traveling all over. And we were just getting started with our brand. They (Bananas organization) have really exploded with the TV production and everything they have done. It’s been amazing to watch. So, to have them part of our community again is a really cool thing.”