TAMPA, Fla. — Last year, Savannah Bananas brought a sold-out show to Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. This weekend, one of the sport’s biggest glasses will take over Raymond James Stadium and play their first match at a soccer venue.
The decision to choose Rayjay came after hurricane damage ripped the roof off the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The mix of banana baseball and entertainment took the country by storm. Tickets are extremely rare and do not exist this weekend. Over 65,000 people fill the stadium’s capacity on Saturday nights.
“Tomorrow is the Super Bowl,” Bananas owner Jesse Cole said Friday. “The fans have given us a reason to do this. The support they have is incredible. I am so proud and happy that players experience something like this. You want to play major league baseball. You have that goal and you have that dream.
Port Richie native Sean Fulke didn’t have it. Five years ago he had elevators installed everywhere at Raymond James Stadium. On Saturday night he becomes the starting pitcher for party animals – Bananas is an arch rival and perennial enemy.
“From stainless steel to panels to ceilings. Everything you see inside. We actually modified all the elevators here,” Fulke explained. “We’re playing here and now, so that’s a pretty cool full circil moment for me.”
fluke smiled when he said his phone had almost exploded, with the number of people who said he would come to see one of the biggest glasses in sports entertainment.
“A lot of friends and family have come, probably about 2,300. So it’s going to be a good homecoming for me.”
St. Pete native Chase Achuf grew up going to the Bucks games, USF football games and Monster Jam Shows at Raymond James Stadium. He didn’t expect to play baseball there.
“I feel like Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans are coming out of that tunnel. I’m ready. I’m ready to play two halves of football.” “I feel like I’m trying to get the feeling that I’ve never been to a baseball field before.”
Fan activities other than the stadium and product stands will open tomorrow at 10am. The gates open at 4:30pm and the first pitch of the sold-out game is scheduled for 7pm
“I’m not resisting the system.”
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