The Savannah Bananas are bringing their traveling show to Chapel Hill for two games at Kenan Memorial Stadium on April 11 and April 12, and the city is bracing for back-to-back 50,000-person events. The Texas Tailgaters will be the opponent both days, with Saturday’s game set for 6:30 p.m. and Sunday’s for 2:30 p.m.
Before either first pitch, the Pre-Game Plaza will open at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. on Sunday, with the “Before the Peel” pre-game show beginning an hour after the plaza opens each day. Gates will open two hours before the first pitch, and Kenan Stadium will be a cashless venue.
Sarah Potter, who is helping frame the scale of the weekend, called it “huge,” and compared it to “having a double header football game that we have in the fall, two days in a row - which never has happened!” That is the draw here: two consecutive nights, or afternoons, of one of baseball’s most theatrical road acts in a college football stadium built to hold the crowd.
Chapel Hill is also making room for the traffic that comes with it. Visit Chapel Hill has listed event parking in Carrboro, Chapel Hill and around UNC’s campus, and it is urging fans to use the Tar Heel Express and the Chapel Hill Transit System. UNC said Stadium Drive will be completely closed early on Friday through the end of Sunday, while South Road will have restricted access.
The Bananas’ stop will spill beyond the stadium gates, too. Dunkin’ at 1509 E. Franklin St. in Chapel Hill will host a Savannah Bananas and Texas Tailgaters fan meet-and-greet from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, where players will serve guests, pose for photos and sign autographs. Businesses around town are also offering discounts and freebies for fans during the visit.
The bigger challenge for would-be spectators may be getting in at all. Tickets are hard to come by because the team holds a lottery before each season, and this season’s lottery closed at the end of October 2025. An interest list is still available for future ticket updates, but for now the weekend belongs to the people who got in early — and to a Chapel Hill traffic plan built for a very big crowd.
