Planning for the Monetary Aspects of the 2025 Savannah Bananas Season
The Savannah Bananas' Unorthodox Journey
Once a minor league baseball team, the Savannah Bananas have morphed into a quirky, family-friendly traveling exhibition squad, recognized for their innovative approach to the game. This transformation has led to exponential growth, but it hasn't been without its challenges on the business side as they chart a bold new course in sports entertainment.
For Dr. Tim Naddy, vice president of finance for the Bananas, preparing the team for this growth means employing a "diamond and dugout" approach to finance. This strategy leverages cutting-edge data systems, seeks mentorship to foster a strategic vision, and grapples with the intricacies of an ERP transition.
As the Bananas kick off the 2025 season, Naddy assures fans that his finance team is geared up to take a swing at another record-breaking year. With the tour extending from minor league ballparks to packing professional baseball and football stadiums throughout the U.S., it's clear that the Bananas are out to shake up the sports world.
Tim Naddy
Vice president of finance, Savannah Bananas
Notable previous employers:
- Endurance Business Media
- Deloitte
- PwC
Talking Bananas
ADAM ZAKI: Coming off last year's monumental season, adding multiple new teams to the Bananas' world tour, and recently having an inaugural NFL stadium game that sold out—how has finance managed to keep pace?
TIM NADDY: One of my main goals is ensuring my finance team doesn't adhere to traditional roles. Our team is cross-trained in what I call the diamond and dugout areas of our business. Diamond is all about baseball, and dugout encompasses everything else, such as game operations and food and beverage. Our merchandise is kept distinct because I believe it's vital for merchandise not to support operations.
The entire company can operate off ticket revenues, so separating merchandise financially allows us to analyze the core components of our business independently. We've added multiple teams to our league: the Bananas, Party Animals, Texas Tailgaters, and Firefighters. Our data indicates that diamond holds immense potential, and we expect to see similar growth in our dugout operations as we expand on the diamond side. The challenge is to maintain this margin so that we never have to use merchandise to supplement other areas of the business.
I also found a mentor, Rob Gerbe, from the United Football League's website. Their financial model aligns with where we aim to be. Despite our teams having only a few finance staff members, we share similar operations. His finance team's expertise in large venue control, data analysis, and scheduling has been instrumental in helping me visualize our finance function's long-term future.
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As we expand the Bananas Baseball League, geographic challenges can arise swiftly. Issues such as withholding taxes in different states, operating multiple venues, lease agreements, and utilities are all hurdles our team must conquer. Gerbe and I have discussed creating a centrally located operation, much like our base in Savannah, to minimize the need to geographically scale our operations when we add new teams.
How do you guarantee data accessibility and accuracy among all these fragmented moving parts?
Our proprietary software aids us in this. Our ticket system, Fans First Tickets, is essentially a separate company that doesn't incur any fees between itself and our organization. This allows us to track our software costs separately, gaining a clear understanding of our expenses.
What sets us apart on the retail side is our tech stack. We recently combined ShipBob with Shopify, which has streamlined our inventory management and fulfilment of online orders. In the past, we struggled with correctly filling online orders, but technology has to a large extent addressed this problem. Our latest challenge is determining where to store our inventory, and we're looking into warehouse space nationwide to tackle this issue.
On the logistical front, we continue to rely on experts. The data in this area is straightforward – did we load and unload efficiently? We rely on Clark Transfer, who excel in their field, to handle logistics, easing the pressure on game days.
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It's fascinating to see the differences in operational scale and crowd size. Our home games in Savannah have the smallest crowd, with Grayson Stadium holding only 5,000 seats and offering all-you-can-eat events. Even though the data gathered there is valuable, it involves unique purchasing and consumer behavior patterns compared to a large venue.
Post last year's stadium tour, we noticed that while crowd size affects consumer behavior and purchasing patterns, the patterns themselves remain fairly constant from game to game. This knowledge helped us prepare when we went to Tampa, where we played to an audience of 65,000. We were more efficient with merchandise replenishment and managed lines more effectively. However, we did encounter challenges with our POS systems running out of battery life, which we're addressing for upcoming events at Clemson University.
I aim to maintain a small finance team as we expand, much like Rob does. Data is paramount in this endeavor. As long as we continue to have impressive visibility into our business's core components and maintain a single source of truth, I believe finance can not only keep up but play a pivotal role in our league's growth.
What advice would you offer peers undertaking an ERP change?
We upgraded from QuickBooks to NetSuite last year, needing a more robust ERP. Any finance person will confirm that this is no easy feat. One thing we discovered is that practically everything we needed from NetSuite required an additional add-on or partnership. Fortunately, we have a tech-savvy team who can code and bridge systems, but without that, you would likely need a NetSuite consultant or implementation expert.
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Since then, we've taken our systems off NetSuite and only use it for basic accounting functions. We simply load transactions into it on a monthly basis. Our proprietary system and tech stack provide the data visibility we need.
What advice would you offer a finance professional looking to enhance their communication skills?
Throughout my career, I've taught accounting, and it's been one of the most valuable experiences anyone can have in terms of honing communication skills. Finance leaders must be storytellers, and if they don't develop this ability early on in their careers, they may face challenges. Teaching has helped me cultivate interpersonal communication skills, learn how to self-deprecate to create a welcoming atmosphere, play down accomplishments, and build rapport with others.
Leaders can appear inaccessible, even unintentionally. I always recommend that finance professionals find a city or group of colleges that works for them and reach out to teach a course. It's not too time-consuming, and the experience truly is what you make of it. Plus, who knows, maybe you'll end up partying on a student's yacht one day.
- Dr. Tim Naddy, Vice President of Finance for the Savannah Bananas, oversees a cross-trained finance team that manages both baseball-related (diamond) and non-baseball operations ( dugout).
- The Bananas finance team achieves independent analysis of core components by separating merchandise financially from operated areas.
- Despite adding multiple teams and playing in larger stadiums, the Bananas' finance team strives to maintain a margin to avoid relying on merchandise for operational support.
- Tim Naddy seeks advice and insights from Rob Gerbe, a mentor from the United Football League's website, to help envision the long-term future of the Bananas' finance function.
- Geographical challenges such as withholding taxes, working with multiple venues, and lease agreements necessitate solving hurdles for the Bananas' expanding business.
- The Bananas use their proprietary software, Fans First Tickets, to track expenses and stay updated on software costs.
- To improve inventory management and fulfill online orders, the Bananas have combined ShipBob with Shopify, addressing problems with correctly filling online orders.
- Logistics remain crucial; the Bananas rely on experts like Clark Transfer to handle transportation efficiently on game days.
- In 2025, the Bananas aim to maintain a small finance team while relying on data visibility to drive growth and respond to challenges within the expanding Bananas Baseball League.
