“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
(Matthew 13:44)
I was completely caught off-guard by the Savannah Bananas. More accurately, I didn’t understand the frenzy around their tickets.
It all started around 6 months ago when my wife casually asked me to enter the “Savannah Bananas Ticket Lottery”. I had no idea what she was talking about, but dutifully complied. I clicked on the website link and inputted my contact information. Done.
I ignored the marketing jargon at first:
“These aren’t your typical tickets”
“It’s the most fun you’ll ever have at a baseball game”
“You name it, we have it. Just be mentally prepared.”
From what I could ascertain, the Savannah Bananas were like the Harlem Globetrotters, except for baseball. Which is fine, but they didn’t look overly enticing to me.
However, the inputting of my information set off a 6-month e-mail marketing firework show about how wrong I was:
“You will only have one opportunity to buy tickets to the game of a lifetime- don’t miss out!”
“Confirm your contact information and double-check your log-in to make sure you can get into the website when ticket sales go live!!” (received 4 months prior to the actual lottery)
“Make sure your credit card information is preloaded so you don’t blow the chance of a lifetime!” (received 2 months before the lottery- I guess I need to make sure the card I put in there isn’t expired by then…)
Things got more intense as lottery day approached. “Reconfirm your log-in info!” “You’ll receive an e-mail 5 days from now that you will need to click on to keep in the lottery!” It seemed like these e-mails kept showing up requiring me to do
(and re-do) more work for the right to buy these tickets. Though annoying, on a certain level I was amazed at their potent marketing acumen that turned an apathetic ticket buyer into a pup willing to do whatever they asked.
The day approached and I was told I needed to be ready to buy them at exactly 12:30 PM on the day of my youngest son’s preschool picnic lunch. Of course, I succumbed and checked the time frequently during the event; I’d be ready to click on their website link at exactly the right time. When the time came, the link was slow to respond making me second-guess my log-in credentials (I know I should have reconfirmed them for the 5th time like recommended- dumb!!). But it finally went through and my credit card information was true as well. Four Savannah Banana upper deck tickets were now mine! The website congratulated me and culminated their storyline with the fact that I was now one of the luckiest 150,000 people in the Charlotte-Metro area.
Hooray? Whew!
Besides the cathartic value of getting this experience off of my chest, it made me think of what else is worth the effort that it took to secure these Savannah Banana tickets.
From a residential property management perspective, great rental tenants is the first thing that came to mind. This is the #1 goal of being a successful landlord. Great tenants pay on time, take care of the property, and make working with them a pleasure (I’m picturing a few of them right now!). And they are a gift that keeps on giving. Once they are secured, the benefits accrue for a year and usually much longer!
So when we see great rental applications come through (high credit scores, low debt, glowing landlord references, etc.), the next step is to make sure they don’t get away. Calling them, texting them, e-mailing, following-up, having after-hour conversations if necessary. We need them. The biggest difference between a good and bad property manager is tenant quality.
We’ll find out if the Savannah Bananas experience was worth the fuss of securing these tickets when we attend the game on June 6th. But smart landlords know that securing great rental tenants is always worth it!
Happy Landlording!
And the postscript courtesy Axios Charlotte:
Savannah Bananas tickets sold out in Charlotte in roughly five hours when they went on sale last week, a team spokesperson tells Axios.
Why it matters: Tickets sold for up to $65 originally, but resale prices start at $113 on StubHub, at $171 on Vivid Seats and $156 on SeatGeek.
Catch up quick: Ticket access was based on the Banana Ball Ticket Lottery, which closed last fall. If you were selected, you were assigned a time to have a chance to purchase tickets.
- Before tickets went on sale, the Bananas added a second night to their World Tour stop at Bank of America Stadium to respond to "overwhelming demand," according to organizers.
My thought bubble: Even with the added night and assigned ticket purchase time, I still wasn't able to grab tickets. 😔
(Axios Charlotte By Laura Barrero · Apr 16, 2025)
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