ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 In May, the 2026 Banana World Tour will play at Walt Disney World\u2019s ESPN Wide World of Sports, promising family fun entertainment, and Orange County is eager to keep the momentum going.<\/p>\n
Steve Hogan, CEO of Florida Citrus Sports, explained the game to the county\u2019s Tourist Development Tax Sports Incentive Committee last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s family fun entertainment, it\u2019s a new twist on baseball, but mostly it\u2019s just family entertainment, which is perfect for our community,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cIt is fun when you get something that\u2019s so aligned brand wise with Orlando, it is just family.\u201d<\/p>\n
[WATCH BELOW: Orlando International Airport tests biometric facial recognition technology]<\/p>\n
The game features viral moments like a dancing umpire, a flaming bat and players on stilts or in kilts.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
[WATCH BELOW: Orlando city council approves $400M renovation for Camping World Stadium]<\/p>\n
They project the 2028 game will attract over 60,000 attendees, 14,000 overnight stays\u00a0 and bring in $27 million in economic impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve 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,\u201d Hogan said.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Florida Citrus Sports is requesting $92,000 to help offset the bid costs for bringing the games here in May.<\/p>\n
The Orange County Board of County Commissioners will vote Tuesday on the funding requests.<\/p>\n
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