The Florida State administration has taken a lot of lumps over the debt accumulated over the past couple of years, with renovations to Doak Campbell Stadium and the newly built Football-Only Facility. The upgrades to the football stadium were needed, as much of the infrastructure was outdated.
The downsizing made sense because it was rare to see football games at full capacity unless it was a huge rivalry game or a top team coming to Tallahassee.
Saturday night was another reason why the renovations to Doak Campbell Stadium were important. The Savannah Bananas brought their brand of baseball to Tallahassee and filled Doak Campbell Stadium to the tune of 60,000+ fans:
The best Opening Night we could've ever asked for. Thank you Tallahassee💛 pic.twitter.com/WSJD8YDx83
— Savannah Bananas (@TheSavBananas) March 1, 2026
It’s another way for Florida State to generate revenue from its investment. It's a great thing for FSU and for the local economy
FSU football saw a max capacity crowd (67,277) for the 2025 season opener against Alabama. The first three home games drew crowds of 65,000+, but those numbers fell to 63,000-64,000 over the final two home games. Many Florida State fans are done with the Mike Norvell era and wanted to see him fired after the Stanford loss last year. The sentiment intensified after the regular-season finale blowout loss against the rival Florida Gators.
However, the FSU administration decided to bring him back for the 2026 season. It’ll be interesting to see how the season unfolds. They’ll open up the season at home against a team they should beat. Doak Campbell Stadium will likely have a large number of fans in attendance for the season opener and the next game hosting SMU. The SMU game and the road game against Alabama will likely determine the rest of the season’s attendance.
If they are competitive or happen to win those two games, we could see Doak Campbell with good attendance. If they look bad or get routed in those games, those numbers will likely fall off. It’s good to see the Savannah Bananas draw such a large crowd. Here’s to hoping FSU football can do the game in 2026.