Cape tourism powers up with influx of Pokemon players

People are flocking to local parks, churches, landmarks and a variety of other places throughout the region.

And their purpose is clear: They want to "catch 'em all."

The video game Pokemon Go was released last week for Android and iPhone devices. It uses real-life locations and encourages players to wander streets and neighborhoods searching for Pokemon characters to capture, so they may be trained for battle at designated as "gyms."

Using a phone's camera function and GPS, Pokemon can show up wherever the camera is pointed. Players can find a magikarp by the river. A Metapod in the produce department. An Eevee in the cemetery.

Designated "PokeStops" allow players to gather equipment and power-ups. Fire stations and police stations are among the hundreds of PokeStops throughout the region.

Quentin Gaither of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department said the department is aware of the game, and while it may bring increased traffic to the station, it may not be noticed.

"We get people in and out of our parking lot all the time, I don't think we'd notice it, except for something weird at 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning," Gaither said.

The fire department is public property, and Gaither said people are free to pull into the parking lot.

"The only thing we can't have is a dozen cars blocking apparatus bays, but I hope everybody would have enough sense not to do that," he said.

Local police are aware of the game and the increased pedestrian traffic the game has produced, but says there have been no issues with public safety. In O'Fallon, Missouri, The Associated Press reported, four teens used the Pokemon Go game to draw victims to an O'Fallon location and rob them. Victims were lured in when robbers put up a "beacon" meant to draw in rare Pokemon.

But in Cape Girardeau, no such incidents have been reported. So far, Rich McCall, public information officer for the Cape Girardeau Police Department sees the advantages to the game.

"I worked downtown this weekend when the whole thing kicked off, and it looked like a great big treasure hunt to me," McCall said. "What I saw was a bunch of people playing games, and not riding and shooting cops or robbing banks."

The department posted on its Facebook page a number of warnings for those using the app. Participants were cautioned not to drive while playing the game. And players should be aware of trespassing laws.

"Pokemon can go on private property without permission and in City parks after hours, but humans can't. It's called trespassing and can get you in a lot of trouble," the post read.

Other PokeStops within Southeast Missouri include local churches and synagogues, parks, and historical buildings. Throughout the university there are multiple gyms and PokeStops represented by university buildings, fountains and historical markers.

Many of the art installments along Broadway and certain images on the mural in Riverfront Park are designated stops as well.

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Though some downtown businesses only observe the increased foot traffic, others are benefiting from it.

"Any foot traffic downtown is good," Katie Amrhein, marketing and events coordinator of Old Town Cape said. "People sometimes forget that there always new stores popping up. So we think it's a good thing that people are coming downtown regardless of whether they going in right now, or if they see a store that might bring them back at some point."

"Business has increased considerably since the game started," Zach Stotts of Main Street Station said. "People come in, get a drink and head back out again."

The Cape Girardeau Public Library has been designated as a gym within the game.

"In theory, I think, they chose spots that have open Wi-Fi and public access," youth services coordinator Sharon Anderson said.

She is looking forward to seeing what kind of draw the gym designation will be.

Early in the game, players align themselves with teams -- yellow, red or blue -- and the teams can take control of the gyms through Pokemon battles. There are regional Facebook groups dedicated to each team, and players organize and plan to meet and overtake gyms within the game.

"I think it's going to be lots of fun. We're always happy for people to see the library, and see the programs we offer," Anderson said.

"It's bringing people together in the community and giving them something to do," Cole Simon said.

Simon walked along Riverfront Park on Monday afternoon with three people he'd just met. They recognized the telltale signs of a Pokemon Go player -- eyes trained on a smartphone, walking slowly with purpose, occasionally stopping to flick a Pokeball toward an approaching creature -- and struck up a conversation.

It's this camaraderie between strangers, they said, that makes this game unique.

"Last night at 9:30 along this wall, there was a family walking around with their 5-year-old playing this game, and just down the way, there were 30-somethings playing the same game. And no one's concerned about safety because we're all a bunch of nerds," Simon said.

Regional Facebook pages have been created for each of the three teams within the game. Players, who may or may not know each other, are arranging meetups at local Pokemon gyms to overtake them for their team. There is a group going out tonight, the men said.

Pokemon Go, like other Pokemon games, have an exercise component. Players are expected to walk to build up their Pokemon collection. Eggs collected within the game can be incubated only when the player walks a certain distance.

And unlike previous Pokemon games that rely on a pedometer, which people would manipulate to avoid walking, Pokemon Go uses GPS and will not count movements over 20 miles per hour.

"I order carryout pizza now, and I walk to pick it up," Simon said.

"I haven't seen kids out playing in forever, until now," Andrew Heimsath said. "This game is getting them outside."

Carissa Reiminger and Ashley Gaertner also wandered Riverfront Park on Monday afternoon, gathering up Pokeballs and searching for Pokemon to move past level 2. Reiminger sees the game as something that will remain popular for a while, because of the competitive nature of the game.

"Everyone wants to be better than the other person," Reiminger said with her eyes fixed to her phone, awaiting a sighting of another Pokemon.

bbrown@semissourian.com

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