Harlem Globetrotters: Rivalry Tour Tips Off December 18 – Unveiling Two New Rival Teams That Will Also Take on the Legendary Team Across 350+ Games Around the Globe

Expanded Globetrotters Universe Brings More Competition, New Challenges – Fans Take the Driver’s Seat with Live Voting, an All-New Free, Tip-Off Party

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The award-winning, Guinness World Record holding, Naismith Hall of Fame member, Harlem Globetrotters, begin their second century of excellence with the Harlem Globetrotters: Rivalry Tour, kicking off on Friday, December 18 and extending across 200+ domestic markets and over 150+ international markets around the globe. The all-new game expands the Harlem Globetrotters universe with two new rival teams joining the Washington Generals, bringing new competition and new challenges. Throughout the show, fans will be put in the driver’s seat with opportunities to vote live on all-new game challenges and help shape moments of competition on the court. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased HERE.

“Reaching 100 years was an incredible milestone, but we have never been a team that looks backward for very long,” said Keith Dawkins, President, Harlem Globetrotters & Herschend Entertainment Studios. “Our 101st season is about taking everything fans love about the Harlem Globetrotters and pushing it forward. We are focused on creating bigger moments, reaching new audiences, and making sure the next generation understands why this team has remained one of the most recognizable and beloved brands in sports and entertainment.”

The names and identities of the two new rival teams will be revealed in the coming weeks.

The Harlem Globetrotters and their Rivals will also debut new game uniforms and all new accompanied fan merchandise that will showcase new colors, identities and styles for the Rivalry Tour. Starter, the team’s new outfitting partner, will help bring the new looks to life with additional uniform and merchandise details to be revealed separately. The tour will also unveil the Harlem Globetrotters Rivals Replica Game Ball by Spalding®, a limited-edition ‘hybrid’ basketball which will be available for purchase at games.

Details of the all-new Harlem Globetrotters: Rivalry Tour will include:

• An all-new, free Tip-Off Party beginning when doors open, bringing fans into the action before the game starts with interactive moments, entertainment, and opportunities to be part of the game!
• All-new basketball challenges where the Globetrotters face their Rivals like never before, where fans get in on the action – voting live on select challenges and could even sub in for a free throw, get pulled in to coach a quarter, or land on the jumbotron.
• Expanded in-arena production including new jumbotron content, player POV cameras, interactive crowd moments and live storytelling designed to bring fans closer to the players and rivalry!

Premium experiences will include:

• MVP COURT PASS (NEW) – Get closer to the team than almost any fan ever does – join the Harlem Globetrotters on the court in the moments before the game begins!
• ULTIMATE FAN PASS (NEW) – Be among the first fans inside the arena for 30 minutes of first-look, on-court access with the Harlem Globetrotters before doors open to everyone else.
• HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS & RIVALS VIP BENCH TICKETS – This is your ticket, elevated – only 16 seats like this in the arena. Sit on the bench for the entire game, front row to every play, with the team. Choose your side: Harlem Globetrotters VIP Bench or Rivals VIP Bench.

The North American leg of the tour tips offs off Friday, December 18 and continues throughout spring 2027. International touring continues throughout the year with planned markets such as France, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Germany, Spain, China, the Middle East and markets across Asia, are just a few of the many locations the Harlem Globetrotters will be touring the globe in 2027 and running through the remainder of the year.

ABOUT THE WORLD-FAMOUS HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS™ / HERSCHEND ENTERTAINMENT STUDIOS

Celebrating over 100 years of excellence, The Harlem Globetrotters™ are THE originators of using sport to deliver goodwill, excitement, showmanship, and athleticism to a global audience. Since 1926, with a legacy of elite talent that has included many of the greatest stars of men’s and women’s basketball from college (HBCU, Division I, II, III, NAIA, JUCO) and the pros (NBA, WNBA, Euroleague, and more) the Globetrotters are the first team in history to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. They showcase their iconic brand of basketball to tens of millions in over 124 countries and territories, across six continents, and surpassing over 400+ games played each year around the world.

The award-winning organization, currently holds an unprecedented 80+ Guinness World Records, the most of any professional sports team, and has expanded its media footprint to make the brand available to fans on every platform. From EMMY nominated broadcast shows, specials, and feature films, to their own FAST channel, as well as reimagining the brand in apparel, retail, sporting goods, memorabilia, and collectible spaces through a broad collection of new partnerships…the Harlem Globetrotters’ brand continue to grow. Content and distribution partners include NBCUniversal, Telemundo, Vizio, ROKU, Fulwell, Hearst Media Production Group, Hidden Pictures, Vantage Pictures, Aspire TV, and Soul Publishing. Commercial partnerships include Coca Cola Company, Spalding, and McDonalds and consumer products & retail programs in collaboration with IMG globally, include Zara, Target, Walmart, Tesco, ASOS, Next, NetShoes, Jerry Leigh, OVO, Shoe Palace, Philcos, Super Break Sports and National Bobblehead Hall of Fame. Coined by the U.S. State Department in 1951 as Ambassadors of Goodwill, and now serving The Official Ambassadors of Goodwill for the United Nations, the global brand has held the distinct honor of meeting with countless world leaders and dignitaries including, Pope Leo XIV, President Barack Obama, revolutionary and philanthropist, Nelson Mandela, just to name a few. The Harlem Globetrotters leverage their moniker to drive its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts globally around their strategic pillars of Health & Wellness, Education, and Community Empowerment. These efforts have yielded partnerships with the likes of the NBA Retired Players Association, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Microsoft, U.S. State Department Sports Diplomacy, United Nations: Food & Agricultural Organization, Operation Homefront, as well as serving in humanitarian missions to countless developing nations.

For more information about the Harlem Globetrotters™ and the Tour, visit their official website: www.harlemglobetrotters.com.