Globetrotters to ramp up China efforts

The Harlem Globetrotters will celebrate the basketball team's 90th season with a big emphasis on China, including selecting the first Chinese player for the team and considering the addition of several Chinese players when the Globetrotters tour China.

"China has a huge population, an expanding middle class and a growing appetite for basketball. As China's economy matures, there will be a rising demand for leisure and family entertainment. Plus the government has implemented programs to promote fitness," CEO Kurt Schneider told China Daily.

Schneider's marketing strategy includes a reality television show in China perhaps by next year, with the concept based on adding the first Chinese player to the team. The Globetrotters play so many games in a short period (240 in the United States over three to four months ) that they use several touring teams, and Schneider said they will consider a permanent or semi-permanent team to tour China with Chinese players. The Globetrotters made their first appearance in China in 1952.

"It's such a robust market that we can see keeping a team in China. It's important to have Chinese Globetrotters to connect with the populace," he said. Schneider said the effort may include women players: "Absolutely - the goal is to gain as wide an acceptance as possible."

Basketball is extremely popular in China, which Schneider attributes in part to the game's simplicity. "All you need are players, a round ball and a hoop and you are good to go. This means the game can be enjoyed in just about any setting - rural or urban," he said.

"I also think the emergence of Yao Ming helped to make basketball popular in China," Schneider added. Ming, a native of Shanghai, played several seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets, and at 7 feet, 6 inches was the tallest player in the league during his career.

"Yao's rise coincides with the rise of China," Schneider added. "Both Yao and China were succeeding on the international stage."

Schneider said the current economic slowdown in China will not affect the team's plans. "The downturn doesn't scare us. We made it during the depression in the US and in the last recession, we actually grew. Family entertainment can overcome any downturn," he said.

Inductees of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Globetrotters have entertained hundreds of millions of fans in 122 countries on six continents. The Globetrotters were formed in 1926 and were known then as the Savoy Big Five.

Often flouting basketball's rules, the team uses athleticism and showmanship to win games and have become one of the most popular sports attractions in the world. Now owned by Hershend Family Entertainment, the Phoenix, Arizona-based Globetrotters will move their corporate offices to Atlanta.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com