In the spring of 2016, Jesse Cole had a baseball team, a stadium to fill, and almost no fans. In his first two months selling tickets for the Savannah Bananas, he sold exactly one season ticket.

A Duplex, an Air Mattress, and a Cockroach

Cole and his wife, Emily, had a house they loved in North Carolina. When the team's finances ran dry, they sold it, packed up their savings, and moved to Savannah to run the club full time.

The only place they could afford was a rundown duplex. Emily called it disgusting. Jesse called it "the nastiest, most decrepit, worst fixer-upper place."

They slept on an air mattress because there was no bed. One night, a cockroach crawled across Jesse's face while he slept.

"You'll Never Sell a Ticket"

When the team unveiled its name on February 25, 2016, the reaction from Savannah locals was brutal.

"We got crucified," Cole later recalled. "You guys are an embarrassment to this city... you'll never sell a ticket... please leave our town."

Two months earlier, the Coles had sold precisely one season ticket.

The Sellout That Never Stopped

The Bananas played their first home game on June 2, 2016. A rainstorm delayed the start almost three hours. More than 4,000 fans stayed anyway, and the game sold out.

The team sold out 18 games in that first season alone. The Bananas say every home game has sold out since.

A Savannah Bananas player shakes hands with a D.C. Air National Guard member on the field at Nationals Park, a packed, sold-out Major League Baseball crowd filling the stands behind them — The Bananas have sold out Major League Baseball parks across the country, including three sellouts at Fenway Park in two years.

From 4,000 Seats to an NFL Stadium

Home is still Grayson Stadium in Savannah, which holds about 4,000 people. Cole's team has never needed anything bigger to run its business.

But Banana Ball itself outgrew Savannah years ago. The Bananas have filled Major League Baseball parks on tour, selling out Fenway Park three times in two years and packing 44,000 fans into Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

On August 28 and 29, 2026, they play Gillette Stadium in Foxborough for the first time. Both nights are already sold out, their first-ever games in an NFL stadium.

Every game still sells out.

Related Tags