Savannah Bananas are coming to South Bend: Here's what to expect

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- From backflips on the mound to dancing umpires, the world-famous Savannah Bananas have completely redefined baseball. Now, they’re bringing their viral tour to Michiana.

They’ve sold-out Major-League stadiums across the country, including Wrigley Field in Chicago. Now, they’re setting their sights on Notre Dame.

The Bananas will be playing two separate games right here in South Bend: one at Frank Eck Baseball Stadium and another inside Notre Dame Stadium. University officials say they're bracing for a huge wave of visitors traveling from all over the country.

“You can think of all the different families in our community, all the folks that are becoming from coast to coast.” Said, Executive Director, University Events at Notre Dame Lee Sicinski, “Tickets will be in high demand, and you know we expect not only our community to show up, but we expect folks from you know all around the United States to come, which is a great opportunity for us to showcase not only the University of Notre Dame but our incredible community and our region."

Local fans are already ripe with anticipation.

“I got to take my little nephew out there for sure.” says South Bend resident, Chase Saldate.

Demand is expected to be high, so organizers say you'll need to enter the ticket lottery quickly.

“Tickets are in high demand. So, what they have is their Savannah Bananas Banana Ball ticket lottery, and that is open now between now and October 31st at midnight. So, we definitely recommend anybody interested in tickets to go there and sign up to the lottery,” says Sicinski.

In terms of seating arrangement? Well, the university says that nobody will have a bad view.

“The vision there is just to to bring the game to the fans on both sides, so nobody has a bad seat throughout, and so we expect them all to be taken and and a full house of 80,000 banana ball fans that day” says Sicinski.

Still on the fence about entering the lottery? Take it from these young fans who say standard baseball just doesn't compare.
“Why do you guys like Savannah Bananas so much?”

“It's just that they're cool and they do a lot of backflips and stuff, and like they do a lot of cool things.” says 10-year-old Brody Jones.

“I went to a game of the Savannah Bananas, and it's not just regular baseball, and I like seeing them play” says 10-year-old Mac Dennis.

Fans have until Oct. 31 to enter the ticket lottery. The Bananas take on the Texas Tailgaters at Frank Eck Stadium on Thursday, June 24, followed by the big showdown on Saturday, June 26, right here at Notre Dame Stadium.