ORLANDO, Fla. – In May, the 2026 Banana World Tour will play at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports, promising family fun entertainment, and Orange County is eager to keep the momentum going.
Steve Hogan, CEO of Florida Citrus Sports, explained the game to the county’s Tourist Development Tax Sports Incentive Committee last month.
“It’s family fun entertainment, it’s a new twist on baseball, but mostly it’s just family entertainment, which is perfect for our community,” he said. “It is fun when you get something that’s so aligned brand wise with Orlando, it is just family.”
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The game features viral moments like a dancing umpire, a flaming bat and players on stilts or in kilts.
The two games in May, a faceoff between the Loco Beach Coconuts and the Party Animals, are expected to draw 20,000 attendees, generate over 3,000 hotel stays and create more than $6 million in economic impact.
Florida Citrus Sports is now seeking $180,000 in sports incentive funding from Orange County to host a Banana Ball Championship League game at Camping World Stadium in February 2028.
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They project the 2028 game will attract over 60,000 attendees, 14,000 overnight stays and bring in $27 million in economic impact.
“They’ve only been at a handful of stadiums, sold them all out, so we wanted to be one of the first ones to say, Orlando is next,” Hogan said.
Additionally, Florida Citrus Sports is requesting $92,000 to help offset the bid costs for bringing the games here in May.
The Orange County Board of County Commissioners will vote Tuesday on the funding requests.