Yesterday’s Pokémon GO Tour: Sinnoh event in Los Angeles, held at the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, was plagued by unexpected challenges that affected its launch.
The event, which was scheduled to start at 09:00 am local time, experienced delays as many Trainers were caught up. famous city traffica start that is expected to result in late arrivals and a day full of excitement and Pokémon catching.
Los Angeles traffic is a force of nature, and it’s resulted in a lot of complaints on Twitter, but not all Trainers think Niantic is to blame here. Even one of the Trainers based in Los Angeles he wrote popular Reddit post Defending Nianticand went on to clarify how traffic, parking, and travel times typically work in LA.
However, our further investigation revealed that there are more problems here, one of which is They are long queues at the venue.
Niantic’s apology and response
Take five, Trainers! ☀️🌴😎🌊🏄
Day 1 #PokemonGOTour: Sinnoh – Los Angeles is in the books and what a time it was!
Can it be tomorrow already? 🥺 pic.twitter.com/jZIJP5zmJi
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) February 18, 2024
In response to the situation, Niantic, He wrote an apology on his official website, acknowledging the inconvenience caused to the participants. To remedy this situation, Niantic extended the duration of the City Wide game later in the day and activated additional bonuses for participants.
A direct quote from Niantic’s post:
Tonight, February 17, 2024the urban event experience will be expanded to cover all of Los Angeles and Orange County for three additional hours, 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM PST, and includes additional raids and wild Pokémon encounters. Please note that there will be no event play at Rose Bowl Stadium or Brookside Golf Course during this overtime.
In a statement on their blog, they expressed their regret for any frustration the Trainers experienced and even offered some sound advice on how to avoid it on Sunday:
We suggest that Sunday Pokémon GO Tour: Sinnoh – Los Angeles ticket holders plan to arrive early at the Rose Bowl Stadium tomorrow. For the most convenient experience, Instructors can also reserve ahead of time by purchasing parking here.
We have to say that Niantic has done a good job here. They were quick to respond, their communication was transparent, and we’re very happy with how it’s handled across all social media.
Community response and support
Amazingly, the community rallied in support! As we have already mentioned, a a very popular thread gained traction on r/TheSilphRoadNumerous Trainers defending Niantic.
Many have pointed out that traffic issues in Los Angeles, known for its heavy traffic and complex road networks, are beyond Niantic’s control. Most Trainers agree that the blame cannot be placed on the event organizers as they could not have predicted or mitigated the road conditions on the day:
Sorry if you want to make LA your vacation trip and you got an airbnb in Santa Monica on the beach and think you can drive to Pasadena in 30 minutes. It’s not reality for that ANYONE in Los Angeles. And Niantic is not a travel company responsible for planning your itinerary or making sure you know the conditions of travel in a new city.
Traffic in LA is not Niantic’s fault. It’s not Niantic’s fault that people are trying to show up at the door and waiting to waltz in. It’s also not Niantic’s fault that people who are an hour late due to traffic and waiting to waltz in! I said there!
As someone who has the (lucky) opportunity to visit and drive to Los Angeles often, I can attest to the above. LA’s traffic can be brutal, and Pasadena, where the event is held, is nowhere near any of the usual tourist spots. Los Angeles is not a city built for tourism and you have to drive all the time, most driving times are 1 to 2 hours.
But we’re not sure if this reddit post paints the whole picture, as Trainers pointed out that no matter when you arrive, there are more issues with the venue itself.
An hour long line to go through security
Another issue we often mentioned was that long queues at the entrance were part of the problem. Some Trainers arrived early enough, but still couldn’t get into the stadium in time: