Nearly 200,000 entered the lottery as Banana Ball sold out Comerica Park twice

Detroit rarely finishes second to Chicago in anything, and it came close to avoiding it here too.

Nearly 200,000 people entered the ticket lottery for the Savannah Bananas' two nights at Comerica Park, and both games sold out. These were the first Banana Ball games in Detroit. They filled Comerica Park on Friday, September 18, and Saturday, September 19, 2026.

Jesse Cole, who created Banana Ball, said only one stadium drew more demand this season than Detroit. "To only have Wrigley have more demand ... other than here in Detroit, in Michigan ... it says a lot," Cole said. He said the show will come back.

The weekend put the Party Animals against the Firefighters, two of the six professional teams the organization now fields. Former Detroit Tigers Brandon Inge and Shane Greene took part in the fun, and the Detroit Lions cheerleaders worked the entertainment breaks. The teams also honored Gabriel Verduzco, a six-year veteran of the Detroit Fire Department.

For anyone who has never watched it, Banana Ball is baseball with a two-hour clock and a point awarded for every inning won. They have played it year-round since 2022.

One fan called it "a mix between baseball, Broadway and the circus." The show runs on karaoke, dance breaks, and trick plays. The entertainment starts hours before game time, outside the park.

The demand was not a Detroit fluke. The 2025 tour drew more than 2 million fans across 40 cities. Every ticket moves through a single lottery on FansFirstTickets.com at a flat rate of $35 or $40. That system is why 200,000 entries turned into two full houses instead of a resale scramble.

Cole has not set a return date yet, so the move for now is the Party Animals' YouTube page, where both Comerica Park games streamed. When the lottery reopens, Detroit already knows the drill.