The Harlem Globetrotters, the most famous basketball team in the world having played in 120 countries and on six continents, have shattered box office records on the 2009 Spinning the Globe World Tour with 29 new box office marks through its first eight weeks.
On February 15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, the team set an all-time Globetrotters’ record for the highest number of single-game paid tickets for any and all shows in the historic 83 years of the Globetrotters franchise.
The tour, which set out on December 26 with two versions of the Globetrotters touring at the same time, has also set records in Chicago, IL; Anaheim, CA; Oakland, CA; San Jose; CA; Houston TX; Cleveland, OH; Pittsburgh, PA; Indianapolis, IN; Kansas City, MO; Cincinnati, OH; Oklahoma City, OK; Austin, TX; New Orleans, LA; Little Rock, AR; Tulsa, OK; Lexington, KY; Rochester, NY; Syracuse, NY; Bossier City, LA; Waco, TX; Baton Rouge, LA; Moline, IL; Youngstown, OH; Monroe, LA; Beaumont, TX; Lake Charles, LA; Bethlehem, PA; and Sault Ste. Marie, ON.
The Globetrotters are showing their appreciation to these markets by giving the venues specially embossed “money balls,” displaying the venue and date of their record-breaking Globetrotters show. The team will continue to award “money balls” to other venues that have record-breaking Globetrotter performances through the conclusion of the North American tour in April.
“We are extremely excited that so many people across the continent are coming to witness the magic of the Harlem Globetrotters and our unrivaled brand of affordable family entertainment,” said Michael Kenney, the Globetrotters’ senior vice president, live event marketing, in a statement. “We truly believe that a Globetrotters show is an unskippable event that families will be talking about for years to come, and a tradition that will be passed on from generation to generation.”
