Jared Orton

Jared Orton has been the President of the Savannah Bananas since day one and originally began working with Fans First Entertainment in Gastonia, NC. while he completed his degree in Sport Management at Belmont Abbey College. Jared learned the ropes of the sports and entertainment industry first with the Gastonia Grizzlies and then with the Burlington Royals where the focus on the fan experience led attendance to reach new heights each season.

Building on that experience, Jared took on the challenge of leading the resurgence of baseball in Savannah, Georgia beginning in 2015. He regularly speaks to organizations and business leaders around the country to help them create their own Fans First Experiences. Jared currently lives in Savannah with his wife, Kelsey, and their daughter.

The Savannah Bananas had a record-setting inaugural season welcoming over 91,000 fans to their home games in 2016 and breaking the Coastal Plain League Attendance Record. 17 of the 24 home games were played in front of sold-out crowds during that first season. From there, every single Savannah Bananas game has been a sellout. The popularity of the Savannah Bananas has reached every corner of the United States and around the world with stories being covered by Good Morning America, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, MSNBC, and Entrepreneur magazine. In 2021, the team embarked on a One City World Tour to Mobile, Alabama with their brand new game – Banana Ball – the fastest and most entertaining game in sports.

In 2022 and 2023, the Bananas toured to more cities and in 2024 will play in front of one million fans from coast to coast. Every year, hundreds of thousands of fans join the Bananas Tickets Lottery list with the hopes of attending a sold-out game. Jared and the Bananas believe this is exclusively due to creating a Fans First Experience.