The Savannah Bananas are going to play in Nebraska the same week as the College World Series. This announcement certainly seems to be a contradiction of the team’s desire to “grow the game.”
They are directly competing with the biggest stage for college baseball.
I am not someone who hates on the Savannah Bananas. I do not understand all of the backlash. However, this latest scheduling decision makes me question the organization’s true intentions. It’s a bad look.
The Savannah Bananas are going on tour.
The rise of Banana Ball over the last four years has been remarkable. A collegiate summer team that sold only a handful of tickets as a member of the Coastal Plain League in 2016 played in front of over two million fans and sold out 17 Major League Baseball stadiums in 2025.
The Bananas even sold out Nissan Stadium in Nashville, home to the Tennessee Titans, which holds a maximum capacity of 70,000. They did the same at Memorial Stadium, home to the Clemson Tigers.
There are a lot of haters who do not like the Bananas for how they approach the sport. Baseball purists cannot stand how they transformed the product into something that does not resemble the game they love. Those people do not enjoy having fun.
It is impossible to hate the Savannah Bananas after you watch this video of childlike joy. Kids love them. Adults who just so happen to buy a last-minute ticket end up having an absolute blast.
As the game of Banana Ball continues to increase in popularity, it is making its biggest move yet.
The inaugural season of the Banana Ball Championship League was announced on Thursday. It will be played at 75 different stadiums in 45 different states in front of 3.2 million fans next year.
Banana Ball will be played at 14 Major League Baseball parks and 10 football stadiums in 2026. That includes Kyle Field and Neyland Stadium, which both have a capacity of over 100,000, as well as the Superdome in New Orleans and Gillette Stadium in Massachussetts. They’re even going to play at Dehler Park in Billings, Montana with a capacity of just 3,000. It’s awesome.
However, there is one stop on the schedule that is subject to well-deserved criticism.
To play in Nebraska in June conflicts with the College World Series.
The Banana Ball tour will stop at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska on June 13. The home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers can hold approximately 85,000 fans. It will be sold out. It will be electric.
Memorial Stadium – Lincoln, NE. June 13 v. the Firefighters pic.twitter.com/3jXIms2JUd
— Savannah Bananas (@TheSavBananas) October 9, 2025
With that being said, the timing and location of this game is unfortunate.
Lincoln is located 60 miles from Omaha. There is no bigger sporting event in the city of Omaha than the College World Series, which is scheduled to begin on Friday, June 12, 2026.
Baseball fans who might make the trip from Lincoln and the surrounding area to the College World Series might choose to stay home and watch the Bananas instead. Especially if their kids are more excited about the latter than the former.
The same can be said for the people of Omaha. Local baseball fans who have attended the College World Series in the past might instead choose to drive to Lincoln to see the Bananas.
Even if attendance at the College World Series is not that impacted by the Banana Ball tour, it is still a bad look. The Bananas pride themselves on “growing the game.” Why compete with one of the biggest events in the sport? It seems to me like that stop could’ve been scheduled for any other weekend.