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Pokemon Go: Broken Arrow businesses taking advantage of popular app to boost visitor traffic

App Is Attracting New Tourism
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BROKEN ARROW, Okla.--  City officials in Broken Arrow have seen an uptick in visitors to local parks, and businesses have noticed a boost in their traffic.

And they say the new Pokemon Go app is the reason why.

"Last night I played it for like hours and I just walked around my neighborhood," said Pokemon Go player Connor Balbontin
  
"It's a world phenomenon," said Pokemon Go player Sebastian Kirby.
 
The Museum Broken Arrow Executive Director, Lori Lewis said she couldn't believe how many people were using the Pokemon Go app near the museum. 
 
"It was Sunday evening 9:30 pm and there was over 30 people surrounding our building on their phones looking for Pokestops in the Rose District, on a Sunday night," said Lewis.
 
Now the city is taking advantage of the foot-traffic by adding Pokestops to local businesses and historical landmarks. 
 
 "With this people can come to the Museum Broken Arrow as a Pokestop. They can use that application to see our museum and they receive Poke balls to help them get further along in their game," said Lewis.
 
"I've walked throughout the city of Broken Arrow, but I didn't know that all these stops, like the memorials were here and that's cool," said Balbontin.
 
Lewis said he hopes players continue to learn about Broken Arrow's history while at the Pokestops in town.
 
"We're hoping people will stop, take a look around and look at what we have today and really reflect on what we've had throughout our history in Broken Arrow," said Lewis.

Some of the Broken Arrow businesses that are PokeStops include:

  • Main Street Tavern Restaurant
  • Oldest Tree in Broken Arrow
  • Mr. Mambos Restaurant
  • The Museum Broken Arrow
  • Central Park
  • Veterans Park
  • Sieling Park
  • The eagle statue in front of City Hall
  • Centennial Clock
  • Centennial Mural
  • F.S. Hurd Home
  • First Christian Church at Elm

“We see the addition of The Museum Broken Arrow as a Poké Stop as another way for us to interact with our community,” said Lewis. “We were excited to learn that The Museum has been included in the game and feel that as more people stop by to stock up on Poké Balls and take advantage of the nearby gym, that we should welcome them to visit our facility to learn more about the town they live in and the people that built it." 

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