In 2021, Raymond James Stadium hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs for Super Bowl LIV. Just four years later, that same stadium became a breeding ground for unparalleled glory. 

Banana Ball made its NFL stadium debut and played on its largest stage yet: Raymond James Stadium.  

“This is now our Super Bowl.” Owner Jesse Cole said before the game. 

Though this game was only the seventeenth of the 2025 Banana Ball World Tour, it was the sixth and final game in the state of Florida for the year for both the Savannah Bananas and Party Animals. It was ultimately the Bananas who took the win. 

Putting on a sold out show in front of a stellar crowd at Raymond James is certainly one way to make a lasting impression on the Sunshine State. 

Converting the hash marks on the grounds of Raymond James into a Banana Ball field took a lot of manpower. From the netting to the padding to the foul lines, there were a lot of moving parts and months of planning to make the historic day happen. 

“We had to figure it all out,” Jesse Cole said. “How are we going to do the field? How are we going to get the netting and padding done? It’s been months of conversation talking about the orientation and the dimensions.”

Netting for the game was especially important. Protecting fans from flying banana balls without hindering their ability to participate in rule No. 8 (If a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out) and also allowing the players the ability to hit to their full potential on either side of the field was arguably one of the biggest challenges. Thankfully, our friends over at Netting Pros were able to make it happen.

“They came up big,” Jesse Cole said about Netting Pros. “They explained that they could make the netting work all the way around at fifty plus feet, and do it in a way that could really work for us.” 

It was ultimately decided that the netting would start on the 40-yard line of the field’s eastern side then extend behind home plate and to the 40-yard line on the field’s western or right field side.  

Dimensions looked a little like this: 

• From home plate to the right field foul pole: 275 feet 
• From home plate to dead center field: 422 feet 
• From home plate to the left field foul pole: 354 feet 

Now, those numbers may seem a little out there, but the field’s setup combined with an electric energy from fans, players and staff who were eager to watch history be made created a game for the ages. We’ll definitely be thinking about it for a while. 

Here’s a glimpse into what unfolded during the first Banana Ball game ever played in an NFL stadium.

First Home Run 

First Trick Play 

Trick plays have become such a critical part of Banana Ball, and as players become better and better at successfully recording them, it was impossible to guess who would note the first one in Tampa. 

The Greatest Showman didn’t leave us waiting for very long though. 

Jackson Olson, in the top of the first inning, recorded the first trick play out in an NFL stadium on a grounder to second that was sent by the bat of Jake Skole.

He whipped the ball in between his legs before sending it over to Eric Jones Jr., who was waiting at first to make the catch. 

The trick play was not only the first in Raymond James, but was also the 200th trick play of the season for the Savannah Bananas. Way to work, No. 8.

Guest Appearances + Halftime show 

An NFL star wasn’t the only one to make an appearance in Raymond James that night. 

Both the Bananas and Party Animals were joined by LOCASH, a country music duo, who were happy to help aid the two teams in putting on one of the most entertaining Banana Ball halftime performances to date. 

Right on the hour mark of the game, the players met the duo at the 50-yard line, and put on a concert. The Bananas and Party Animals danced to every beat of LOCASH’S performance of Hometown Home and I Love This Life. 

We sure did love that.

Showdowns 

The Banana Ball NFL stadium debut had undeniably one of the most electric finishes to a game to date. While it was the Bananas who were deemed victorious, the Party Animals didn’t go away without a fight. 

There were four total rounds of Showdowns, and each round was just as exciting and anxiety inducing as the one before. 

In round one, the Bananas’ Showdown pitcher Danny Hosley shut down Reece Hampton in just four pitches, a Showdown Shutdown, if you will. 

Drew Gillespie came to the rubber soon after and worked swiftly against RobertAnthony Cruz. RAC made just enough contact to ding the ball back into the hands of Drew. Round 2 of Showdowns came quickly. 

Danny Hosley’s dominance was unlike anything we’ve ever seen from a Showdown pitcher. With nothing but heaters, he sat down the second Party Animal Showdown hitter, Jake Skole with ease, collecting back-to-back K’s in Showdowns. 

Still, it was Drew who had one of the best displays of athleticism that Banana Ball has ever seen. After recording a hit-by-pitch against Eric Jones Jr. he faced Dan Oberst at the plate, who sent a blooper up into the air just past first base. Drew, the sole defender, sprinted towards the pop-up and made a catch that sent the stadium into a spiral.

In Round 3, Danny recorded a hit-by-pitch against Bryson Bloomer and allowed Noah Fisher to send a ball to left field. Four runs were scored in this inning. 

The Bananas responded swiftly though, powered by an outstanding offensive performance from rookie KJ Jackson. The game was tied at seven and was sent into what was ultimately the last round of Showdowns.  

And man, was that a show. 

The bases were loaded for Party Animal Tanner Thomas, who promptly sent a ball to the right field wall. Reese Alexiades, with his insane display of speed, was able to get the ball back to the plate just in time for catcher Bill Leroy to make the tag on Jake Skole. Jake, who was initially called out at home on Bill’s tag, insisted that the play be reviewed. His passionate persistence paid off and the call was overturned. The Party Animals scored three runs, taking a 10-7 lead over the Bananas.  

But it’s not over until it’s over, and the Bananas made sure of that. 

The Bananas’ fate rested on the shoulders of DR Meadows, who couldn’t have been more perfect for the job. His hit sent Reece Hampton to deep center. Reece was just as quick as his counterpart, though, and sent the ball to Drew Gillespie at cutoff, who sent it to Andy Cosgrove at home, just in time to tag out DR. 

That’s not what happened, though. 

DR was initially called out, but further review revealed otherwise. A late slide from DR and faulty tag from Andy meant that the Bananas had scored four runs in that last round, putting them ahead of the Party Animals 11-10.

The Savannah Bananas walked away as the victors in Banana Ball’s greatest stage to date; its NFL stadium debut. 

Banana Ball’s time in Tampa was nothing short of spectacular. From flyovers to fireworks to singing Moana on a pirate ship and witnessing a proposal, this game truly had it all. 

We are so grateful to have made history with 65,000 fans in Raymond James Stadium and look forward to making history once again, this time in Clemson’s Death Valley.