It’s almost time for Banana Ball at Death Valley.

The Savannah Bananas, the viral baseball sensation, are set to play their first-ever Banana Ball game at a college football venue – Clemson’s Memorial Stadium – when they host the Party Animals on Saturday.

The game will be the first non-NCAA event at Memorial Stadium since the George Strait Music Festival in 1999. Additionally, it will also be the first recorded baseball game ever played at Clemson’s iconic venue.

Clemson athletic director Graham Neff is stoked for the special event.

“It’ll be really, really fun. I’m excited about it. It’ll just be something different,” Neff said Friday on WCCP 105.5 FM The Roar.

The festivities Saturday will start long before first pitch, including a pregame Fan Fest that will start at 2 p.m., in parking Lot 5, adjacent to Tiger Walk – which will take place around 4 p.m., per Neff.

At 3 p.m., the “heart” of the pregame experience, Before the Peel, will commence. This show will include lively broadcasters, special guests, and entertaining cast members, according to the gameday guide posted on Clemson’s website.

The game will begin at 6:30 p.m., and fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 6:15.

Parking lots open at 8 a.m., and the atmosphere around Tiger Town on Saturday will resemble a football gameday in the fall.

“Parking lots open at 8:00 tomorrow, which sounds just like seven Saturdays in the fall. So, that’s what it’s going to be,” Neff said. “I think first pitch is right at 7 o’clock. But the fanfare of it – they’re going to do Tiger Walk at like 4 something. All the fanfare – they have a band stage outside of The Oculus at Lot 5. So, big start early. If you show up at 7, you’ll see two hours of a baseball game, but you’re going to miss probably three hours worth of stuff.”

Neff revealed that Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney will make an appearance during the show.

“There’s going to be some surprise inclusion with Coach Swinney,” Neff said. “He met with the staff today to give them some encouragement, and he’s going to be part of the show tomorrow. I guess I’ll leave it at that.”

Neff added that Clemson plans to continue hosting various events at Memorial Stadium and its other athletic venues moving forward.

“We are planning to and have strategy around activating our venues, Memorial Stadium or otherwise, more than just seven Saturdays (in the fall),” he said. “We’re not Atlanta or Charlotte, we’re not just going to have concerts here every other weekend. But, the appropriate and the demand of concerts and events and Topgolfs and those type of things that we’ve started to turn the spicket on, expect us to continue to do that, to meet the community and those opportunities, let alone the revenue aspect of it, too, is important.”

The Clemson Insider’s Ashby Mixon contributed to this story

Photo courtesy of Ken Ruinard/USA Today Network