02/03/25 Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski /

As an avid Pokemon Go player, I have mixed feelings about the upcoming Go Tour event, which offers an in-person city play experience Feb. 21-23 in Los Angeles with a global option the following weekend.

Players who purchased a ticket to the city experience will play the game at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena during one of the three days and can purchase add-ons to play the event from anywhere in the city during the other two days.

For the longest time, I was anxious about attending the event, primarily because I’ve never flown before and will be traveling to the West Coast alone.

Then, raging winds assisted wildfires in destroying entire communities around the city.

I prayed that Niantic Labs, the game’s developer, would cancel the event or that local officials would force their hand in the wake of the catastrophe.

While thousands of people in the area lost their homes and fled for their lives, Niantic issued a statement saying preparations for the event were moving forward as planned.

The Rose Bowl Stadium was used to stage firefighters from across the nation — and other countries like Mexico — as the Eaton fire, only a few short miles away, continued to burn.

Thankfully, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Eaton fire was 99% contained as of Tuesday, Jan. 28.

While that quells my worries about whether the event can safely take place in a couple weeks, it still begs the question of whether it should.

In another statement released by Niantic Tuesday, the company said it made its decision to move forward with the event in partnership with the Rose Bowl Operating Co. and local authorities.

“Our thoughts are with those impacted by these wildfires. More information, including what we are doing to support the local community, will be shared at a later date,” Niantic said in the statement, noting people who purchased tickets could request a full refund up until the event.

It might seem heartless to want to play the game there now. But an event like Go Tour, which will bring tens of thousands of people to the area to spend millions of dollars, could have a positive impact on the local economy in a time of need for many.

According to Niantic’s website, last year’s Go Fest event in New York City sold over 68,000 tickets for the in-person event at Randall’s Island Park, generating an economic boost of $126 million with a tax revenue generation of $26 million for the city.

While $26 million won’t even come close to helping the city’s residents rebuild, any amount, no matter how small, will help. If the event is deemed safe to go on as planned, then I think it should.

This game is a source of joy in my life and has connected me to many great friends I wouldn’t have met otherwise, like Grant and Alex, a streaming couple from the New Jersey area I met online through Twitch.

For my birthday last year, I drove nearly 300 miles to meet them and spent my special day in the back seat of their car, playing Pokemon Go.

And I’ll likely do it again. Although the game is fun to play, it’s the community that makes this trip worth traveling for.

In fact, one of the reasons I’m excited for Go Tour the most is the chance to potentially meet notable players, like Billy Lutz, known as The Trainer Club; Daniel Amos, known as FleeceKing; or Alexa Shuster, known as AyyyLexa, whom I am friends with in the game.

Although I’ll spend most of that weekend trying to “catch them all” with friends I’ve never met in-person before, one of my bucket list items is to visit the Beach Boys Historic Landmark in Hawthorne, which marks the site of Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson’s childhood home.

Their cousin, Mike Love, came to the Jaffa Shrine Center in May 2019. A photograph I took of Love at that concert was later autographed in 2021 by Love and bandmate Bruce Johnston at another show at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg.

Months later in the same venue, I saw Brian Wilson and former Beach Boy Al Jardine perform many of their greatest hits, like “I Get Around,” “California Girls,” “God Only Knows” and “Good Vibrations.”

While I remain slightly nervous about the flight to California, I’m holding out hope the trip will be remembered as nothing short of “Fun, Fun, Fun” when I’m still working in my 80s like Wilson and Love are now.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520 and mchurella@altoonamirror.com