Harlem Globetrotters trot into the Event Center this winter

RIO RANCHO — World-famous trick-shot basketball team, the Harlem Globetrotters, are landing in the Rio Rancho Event Center Feb. 28, 2025, to once again thrill local audiences with their dunks, spins and utter domination of longtime rivals, the poor Washington Generals.

Exact records are spotty, but according to BBC.com, the Globetrotters are in the neighborhood of 17,000-3 versus the Generals.

On Sept. 14, the Globetrotters announced the dates for their 2025 World Tour presented by Jersey Mikes, and Rio Rancho is on the list, in what the news release refers to as the Harlem Globetrotters “victorious return to the Rio Rancho Events Center.”

The “Trotters,” as they’ve been nicknamed since the early 1980s, last visited the City of Vision on April 15, 2022.

“This year we’re bringing FUN and innovative CHALLENGES to showcase our superstars’ impressive skills and seemingly impossible feats of athleticism,” the team said in a news release. “Watch in awe as players go head-to-head in an exhilarating battle of skills featuring epic dunks, jaw-dropping four-point shots, and more — it's a friendly competition at its most exciting!”

The family-friendly event will also offer pre- and post-game access to fans, as well as in-game fan interaction and a “Fan-filled Halftime Skills Competition.”

The Harlem Globetrotters were founded in 1926, but they didn’t play their first game in Harlem until the 1960s. The team began as the Savoy Big Five and was a marketing idea from entrepreneur Abe Saperstein, who saw an opportunity to highlight Black talent in a segregated America. After finding success with the idea in Chicago, Saperstein added “New York” to the uniforms and put the team on a bus to tour the country. The Harlem Globetrotters were born.

The event takes place at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Rio Rancho Events Center. For more information and tickets, visit Globetrotters' official website, harlemglobetrotters.com.

Note for superfans: Tickets go on presale at 10 a.m. Sept. 23, 2024, with code VENUE.