It might be the middle of the NFL offseason, but there was a game played at Raymond James Stadium this weekend. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren't playing, nor was a college football team; baseball was being played at the RayJay for the first time ever.
The famed Savannah Bananas were in town and made a stop in Tampa, making history in more than a few ways while there.
It was a sold out game, which in its own right was an insane sight to behold. Every single seat was filled to watch what is pretty much the Harlem Globetrotters of the baseball world do their thing, and looking at Raymond James Stadium as a baseball stadium took a little whie to get used to.
🥲🥲🥲 pic.twitter.com/fWy0D09q40
— Savannah Bananas (@TheSavBananas) March 15, 2025
If that looks a little weird, then the stadium transformation timelapse will truly blow your mind. We're not used to seeing Raymond James Stadium look anything other than a football field, which makes the job the grounds crew did to turn it into a baseball diamond even more impressive.
Check it out, and behold their hard work:
And shoutout to the grounds crew for completing the transformation 👏pic.twitter.com/scjJFkt1L0
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) March 16, 2025
That's pretty cool.
Everyone seemed to be out for the occasion, including Tristan Wirfs who showed up shirtless and riled up the crowd by getting involved with some of the Bananas in-game schtick. All in all it was an incredible night, and one that could potentially serve as a dry-run for another baseball team that plays in the area.
What is Savannah Bananas baseball?
Some fans might wonder what the big deal is about the Savannah Bananas, and you can't blame them for their popularity being a cultural blindspot. They seemed to have popped up overnight on the independent baseball circuit, playing their self-proclaimed brand of the "fastest and most entertaining game of baseball."
They exploded onto the scene a few years ago and haven't looked back, sprinkling some of the magic that the Globetrotters have onto the game of baseball.
If you doubted their appeal, look no further than the sold out crowd at Raymond James Stadium this weekend as proof of their popularity.
A natural question that will pop up now is whether this could be a dry-run for the Tampa Bay Rays to play games at Raymond James Stadium. The Savannah Bananas weren't originally scheduled to play at the Bucs' stadium but Tropicana Field essentially being destroyed by Hurricane Milton forced them to change the venue.
What worked out so well for the Bananas could be a sign that the Rays should follow suit. We've seen MLB and NFL teams split stadiums before, and the only overlap would be during the fall months -- of which the Rays only play two (September and potentially October).
Also, the Rays playing at a place dubbed the RayJay just feels right.
It's something to think about as the stadium situation gets stickier, but if the only baseball that gets played at Raymond James Stadium was the Savannah Bananas game then it'll be a fantastic game to end on.
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