Hamilton’s Pyramid Hill benefits from Pokemon Go craze

BY THE NUMBERS

Pyramid Hill’s 300-acre grounds are home to:

Pokemon Go quickly became a global craze, and it’s also made Hamilton’s Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park one of the hottest game stops in the state.

Downtown Hamilton has been full of people playing the game and now Pyramid Hill is attracting a wave of players. So many in fact, that the location may just be the best place in the state for gobbling up Pokemon creatures, according to Jeni Barton, director of programming and administration for Pyramid Hill.

“We haven’t had anyone challenge us on that yet, so we are going with it,” Barton told the Journal-News with a laugh.

The game has helped get people out and exploring their communities, which has been a positive for local businesses, including Pyramid Hill.

“We looked at our attendance the week before we launched Pokemon Go and the week after, and our attendance increased by 18 percent if we reduce special events and things like that from the equation,” Barton said.

Taylor Welch, an intern at Community Design Alliance Architecture & Interiors in Hamilton, said the sculpture park is a great place to play the game.

“They have a lot of Poke-stops and Gyms at the park, so it’s a great place for a group to go out for the day and play the game,” he said.

Liz Hayden of the city’s Business and Development Office said the virtual game is adding “to the vitality of downtown Hamilton.”

“The game has helped bring people downtown who weren’t previously spending time in our community. Hopefully, they keep coming back,” she said.

Barton said another benefit to the game has been an educational component for young people.

“One of the phenomenal things the game did was they found existing information on the culturally significant places where they put these Poke-stops,” she said. “So, when someone goes up to our sculpture to go to the Poke-stop, it pops up a picture of the sculpture with its name, the artist and information about it.”

That, she said, is giving people an informative experience.

“I have 17-years-olds coming in and saying, ‘Hey, I got this down by ‘Passage.’ And I’m saying, ‘Oh wow, you know ‘Passage.’ ”

Although a few have scoffed at Pyramid Hill’s admission price ($8 for adults; $3 for kids), Barton is hoping an upcoming free event will wrangle a few more Pokemon players. The park’s next museum gallery series, an artist meet-and-greet, is scheduled for 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 19, and in conjunction, Pyramid Hill is holding a Pokemon Safari competition for interested players.

“We want to change what people know about the park. It’s a little hidden gem, and my job is to get rid of the hidden part,” Barton said. “Once they come, it sells itself because it’s amazing — it’s always more than people expect.”

This article contains additional reporting from our news partner WCPO 9 On Your Side.