Latest news with #JesseCole
Yahoo
10-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Could MLB buy the Savannah Bananas? Co-Owner Jesse Cole Weighs in on Possibility
Could the uber-popular independent baseball team, the Savannah Bananas, be sold to MLB one day? Co-owner and team ringleader Jesse Cole says there is no chance. And he's offered up surprising reasons why. The Savannah Bananas brand has grown exponentially over the last few years. Things have gotten to the point where the team that plays in competitive but comedic games is selling out MLB stadiums around the country consistently. It is a money-making machine that surely has the attention of major companies and leagues, such as MLB. However, if MLB or any major corporation came calling to own the Bananas brand, co-owner and founder Jesse Cole recently explained why he would never sell. Because it isn't about the money, and instead, the goal is to create a brand that is recognized around the globe. 'No, and I would never sell. No, why would I? It's not about the money,' Cole said in a recent interview. 'What would I do? I'd be bored. I think the difference is a lot of people, when they start things, they wanna make a lot of money. That's never been my interest. Nine years ago, I was sleeping on an air bed. I want to create a billion fans. 'We love this so much. Every day we come out here and get to do things we've never done before and get to have control of creating something. We could make millions and millions more if we charged the ticket price that people would pay,' he admitted. 'The average ticket on the secondary market is going for $300 or $400. Our average ticket is $40 to $60. No ticket fees, no service fees, no convenience fees. Savannah Bananas could be part of a future league? As the Bananas' style of sports and entertainment continues to grow, they are constantly compared to the Harlem Globetrotters. However, Cole claimed recently that the comparison couldn't be further from the truth. The reason being is the legendary basketball team turned into a pure moneymaking enterprise. He has far bigger goals for 'Banana ball.' 'We are not the Globetrotters. We are going to go out and create competitive Banana ball. We're building a sport,' Cole said. 'The Globetrotters in the 1940s sold out Madison Square Garden twice in one day. They went to Berlin and played in front of 75,000 people. They were the most popular sports team in the world. But what did they do? They said, 'Let's just form another Globetrotters team, and another, and let's just script the show every night so we win and do the exact same things over and over.' 'The NBA was booking them to try and get fans to stay for the NBA games. So my question is, what if the Globetrotters said in the 1940s, 'We create our own league.' Would they be the NBA? Those are the crazy things we think about,' he added. 'MLB is great, and it will be here forever. We look at it like boxing and UFC. Boxing is still tremendous, but UFC came around and said we are going to do it differently.' It is a bold goal. But for a team that has recently sold out football stadiums for games, it is hard to doubt them right now. Related Headlines NASCAR Points Leaders after Today: Cup Series Playoff Picture after Watkins Glen NASCAR Race Today: Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Shane van Gisbergen among Winners, Losers from Watkins Glen NASCAR Results Today: Watkins Glen Winner, NASCAR Cup Series Stage Results and Points Connor Zilisch Injury Update: NASCAR Star Provides Insight on Timeline for Return
New York Times
10-08-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Quote of the Day: Off-the-Wall Banana Ball Offers Tips For M.L.B. on Enhancing Fan Appeal
'I'm not trying to make a billion dollars. I want a billion fans.' JESSE COLE, the founder of the Savannah Bananas, who said he has turned down big money to maintain a cost-friendly family baseball experience.
CBS News
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Savannah Bananas celebrate foster families with Bananas Foster nonprofit
The Savannah Bananas craze has officially hit Colorado. Banana Ball debuts at Coors Field in Denver this weekend, featuring sold-out, fast-paced, creative baseball games, entertaining fans of all ages. While crowds are dazzled by their performances on the field, co-founder Emily Cole says the team is honored to give back to the communities they visit in other ways as well. During games, the Bananas celebrate foster families and encourage others to get involved with their nonprofit extension, Bananas Foster. Having spent years highlighting youth living in foster care here in Colorado in weekly Wednesday's Child stories, CBS Colorado talked with Cole prior to their Denver visit. "My husband Jesse and I are foster parents," said Cole. "We have adopted our two daughters out of foster care, so we've seen first-hand the struggles that are going on in the system, and we've been doing it for about six years now. We started Bananas Foster in 2023." The Coles got into foster care in a non-traditional way. "I was looking at adoption with my husband, not because we couldn't have children. We have a biological son; it was just something that was on my heart, and I was thinking about adoption and there is such a beautiful space for private international domestic adoption. In my research, I learned about foster care. It made me stop in my tracks and say, rather than wait for a baby to be born to adopt, there are 400,000 children right now in America who need a mom figure." Cole knows that being a foster family is a triumph. That's what keeps Bananas Foster going. "We say, 'Hey, this incredible family is doing this right in your community.' And they get standing ovations, and my favorite part is when we walk them off the field and the crowd is coming into the stairwell and people are hugging and high-fiving and saying I had no idea this was going on in my community." "There are probably people like me who just need to hear about it," continued Cole. "And people who have the love to give and who have a home and want to share it with kids who need them. So here we are, shouting it from the rooftops." To nominate a foster family to be recognized at an upcoming Savannah Bananas game, click here.
New York Times
05-08-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
What can MLB learn from the Savannah Bananas? A lot, it turns out
BALTIMORE – The sellout crowd of more than 45,000 fans at Oriole Park at Camden Yards stood on their feet, screaming and celebrating Saturday's walk-off home run. There had been a palpable buzz at the stadium all night long. It started hours before first pitch, as fans packed merchandise booths and waited in food lines — the kinds of lines typically only seen on Opening Day and in October — as soon as the gates opened. Advertisement Saturday's game was closely contested, with the crowd hovering near full capacity the entire night. When it was over, fans reluctantly headed to their car. They weren't there to see an Orioles game (the O's had trouble selling out their two home playoff games last year), or even a Major League Baseball game. They were there to see the Savannah Bananas, an independent barnstorming group of professionals who have, in founder Jesse Cole's words, 'removed the friction in baseball' and play a fast-paced, backflipping brand of 'Banana Ball' that's taken the sports world by storm, generating millions of fans and seemingly growing at warp speed. 'I get it now,' said former Baltimore manager Buck Showalter after the old-school baseball man served as an honorary coach during Friday's game against an opposing team called the Firefighters. '(The Bananas) are doing a lot of things right. My son said it was like a Caribbean World Series game on steroids.' While some of Banana Ball's 11 rules would be tough to envision implementing in MLB — like foul balls caught by fans counting as outs — there are a host of other lessons about the fan experience and growing the game that the Commissioner's Office (and MLB's 30 teams) might want to consider. That's the actual name of Cole's company, which more than lives up to its namesake. Cole has turned down what he says are 'stupid numbers' from outside investors, as well as a seven-figure offer from a ticket broker. Instead, the Bananas use an internal system for everything from tickets to merchandise and pay all their own fees and taxes on those items, meaning a $35 ticket is actually $35. Yes, it costs Cole money, but he said the decision was a no-brainer. 'I'm not trying to make a billion dollars,' he said. 'I want a billion fans.' Advertisement In Banana Ball, the gates open two and a half hours before first pitch, and there's a steady stream of player and fan entertainment that encourages people to get to the ballpark hours before first pitch (and potentially buy food and merchandise, too). Most MLB teams open their gates 90 minutes before night games, though select games or groups may get in two hours early. Most of the time, the home team is done with batting practice by then, and there's very little if anything going on other than a video blaring on the JumboTron. Fans may catch the end of the road team's batting practice, but for young fans, there's virtually no chance of seeing their favorite players or having any pre-game interactions with them. In Banana Ball, players go into the stands during the game (Cole does, too). And while it would be borderline irresponsible to ask Bryce Harper to mingle in the upper deck between innings, why can't stadiums open early enough for home fans to watch batting practice? Why can't players on the injured list and with the team be required to spend a half-hour pregame signing baseballs? This is how you create meaningful fan interaction and ensure loyal customers for life, which leads us to our next lesson. I attended Saturday's game and was struck with how popular many of the players were. Fans were wearing jerseys with names on their back I had never heard of (despite 15 years covering MLB, I'm a Banana newbie). My 9-year-old nephew waited more than two hours at a local Dunkin Donuts Saturday morning just to meet two Bananas and two Firefighters. Impressed, I checked TikTok, where Banana Jackson Olson has 2 million followers (more than MLB stars Harper and Mike Trout combined), as well as deals with Reebok and Gatorade. The Bananas have 10.5 million followers on their TikTok account, which is more than MLB's official account (8.3 million). Advertisement They will play in more than a dozen MLB stadiums this year, and they are selling out NFL stadiums, too. All four Fans First teams — in addition to the Bananas and Firefighters, there are the Party Animals and Texas Tailgaters — are made up of players who are recruited and paid to play at salaries higher than the minor leagues. All players on Fans First teams are carefully selected for talent, playing ability and makeup. The latter is perhaps the most important. Everyone on the Bananas truly wants to be there, and they don't complain about making trick plays or signing autographs. Cole says dancing was initially met with trepidation by all but a handful of players — until they saw how wildly popular it was. Now, everyone dances. The Bananas don't play Monday through Wednesday — 'Does playing on a Monday night in April serve our fans?' Cole asked — so games are held Thursday through Sunday nights. On this world tour, Banana games were played in warm-weather cities like Peoria, Ariz., and Miami, Fla., until May. MLB doesn't have that luxury in a 162-game season (the Bananas will play 73 games this year), and whether the sport should cut down games is a subject for another day. Still, there has long been the idea among baseball people for a universal off day during the season, perhaps Mondays. The league can't only schedule the first half of April in domed/warm cities because it would delay other clubs' home openers by so much. But there are ways to mitigate that, too. How about more day games — when the temperatures are higher — in the first month of the season? (And in the playoffs, so young fans can watch games until the end.) MLB and its clubs have done a better job of pushing up game times when weather is an issue, but having every Monday off would also make rescheduling postponements a lot easier. Blowouts don't keep fans engaged, so Cole tweaked the rules to make sure the ninth inning would always matter (a team gets an individual point for winning each of innings one through eight, but in the ninth, runs are unlimited). It sounds crazy, but it works, providing more thrilling late-game heroics, like it did on Saturday. There's also a two-hour game clock, though contests are often done before then. Under Commissioner Rob Manfred, MLB implemented the pitch clock to cut out the sport's dead time, a move that has received almost universal praise. Last year, Manfred noted that the sport is considering more rule changes, including the 'Golden at-bat,' which got some buzz at the owners meetings. That's a page right out of Cole's playbook. In Banana Ball, the Golden Batter rule allows a team to send any hitter to the plate in any spot once per game. Advertisement The pitch clock was just the beginning. MLB has been open to many rule changes and adjustments, and they should be. In an era of three true outcomes (walk, strikeout, home run), getting the ball in play and showcasing the players' athleticism, speed and defense is exciting. Some readers who have made it this far probably view the Bananas as the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. (That comparison irks Cole, who points out that his players are very competitive on the field and that every night is a different show.) But the Bananas have more than 3 million fans who have submitted information to the team's ticket waitlist, so MLB should be paying attention. Some of what the Bananas are doing is impossible to replicate. Everyone wants to see the show when it's only in town one or two nights a year. But baseball may be barrelling toward another lockout. MLB's current collective bargaining agreement with its players expires after the 2026 season. Manfred has been meeting with players about a potential salary cap, and the relations between players and the league are already contentious. If it's not careful, MLB may find that fans have moved on, perhaps in favor of another brand of the game that's a little lighter on the wallet. Banana Ball is wacky, but it's also a competitive brand of baseball that prioritizes fun and fan experience. Isn't that what professional sports were supposed to be about in the first place?
CBS News
31-07-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Savannah Bananas tickets sparking scams, Denver officials warn fans to buy from trusted sources
If you've been trying to get tickets to see the Savannah Bananas in action in Denver, you already know how tough it is. The "Banana Ball" sensation, known for its circus-like baseball experience and viral moments, sells out almost instantly. Jesse Cole, the team's creator and the man behind the iconic yellow tuxedo, said the only guaranteed way to get real tickets is through the Fans First Tickets lottery. However, due to the demand, those tickets are sold well in advance, and some Denverites are turning to other sources to try to secure tickets. "Most people on Facebook are getting scammed. Don't buy them," Cole warns. "Get on our lottery. We can't say any tickets on any secondary website are legit." The Denver Police Department and the Better Business Bureau are warning fans to be cautious when buying tickets through unverified sources, such as Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. One big red flag? Peer-to-peer payment apps such as Venmo or Zelle. Those transactions are difficult to reverse if you get scammed. "You want to make sure you're buying from the actual vendor, when possible," said BBB spokesperson Meghan Conradt. "Not only do you have the best experience, but you also have recourse if something goes wrong." Denver Police suggest that if you plan to buy a ticket using a third-party site, use official vendor websites or trusted, well-known resale platforms, and avoid paying with peer-to-peer apps like Venmo, CashApp, or Zelle unless the seller is someone you know personally. Even with reputable resellers like StubHub, there's no guarantee the tickets are valid. And you'll pay a premium as the cheapest tickets on StubHub are listed at about $211 for Upper Level seats, far above the team's official pricing of $40 to $60 with no fees. Cole said 3.5 million people are already on the Savannah Bananas' ticket waitlist, so it's tempting for fans to look elsewhere, but he warns against it. He says the team is also working on ways to improve ticket access and expects to announce updates within the next year to help fans who don't make it through the lottery. We'll be joined by the players for a special live show at Coors Field the morning before the Bananas' first game. Tune in to CBS Mornings from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, and find out everything you need to know before the Bananas take over Denver. Although the lottery list is closed for this year, those wanting to receive notice when the next tour will take place can sign up for the Banana Ball Ticket Interest List. The Savannah Bananas' website notes that, "This will not provide you a chance to buy tickets for 2025 Banana Ball season, but will get you in the know for all things tickets for the Banana Ball World Tour."
