{"id":440730,"date":"2026-08-22T21:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T21:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/440730\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T21:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T21:50:08","slug":"pokemon-events-more-than-50000-fans-expected-at-san-franciscos-moscone-center-and-chase-center-organizers-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/440730\/","title":{"rendered":"Pok\u00e9mon events: More than 50,000 fans expected at San Francisco’s Moscone Center and Chase Center, organizers say"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — More than 50,000 fans are expected to descend on San Francisco next week for the 2026 Pok\u00e9mon World Championships and the inaugural Pok\u00e9mon XP fan convention. Events organizers say they will draw visitors from around the world.<\/p>\n

Most activities will take place at Moscone Center from Aug. 28-30, with the championship finals scheduled for Sunday at Chase Center.<\/p>\n

As the city prepares for the influx of visitors, Pok\u00e9mon fans are already gathering, trading collectibles and building anticipation for one of the franchise’s biggest annual events.<\/p>\n

“We’re figuring out what to trade right now,” said one fan.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been collecting for 8 years so I’ve accumulate quite a bit,” said a fan at Pok\u00e9mon meetup Friday night.<\/p>\n

Some say the event’s international reach is a major part of its appeal.<\/p>\n

“It’s a big deal,” said Trey Holt of Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n

“This is pretty international. People are flying in from all over,” Holt said.<\/p>\n

MORE: Loneliness Epidemic: How Pok\u00e9mon GO is helping create connections<\/a><\/p>\n

The Moscone Center is undergoing preparations for both the Pok\u00e9mon World Championships, commonly known as “The Worlds,” and the new fan convention, Pok\u00e9mon XP.<\/p>\n

Dave Tran, a dedicated player, said he has been looking forward to the event coming to the city.<\/p>\n

“Super excited. Finally coming to SF which is great,” Tran said.<\/p>\n

For many attendees, the gathering offers an opportunity to connect with fellow fans.<\/p>\n

“It’s basically like a huge gathering,” said Katherine Davey.<\/p>\n

Davey said she is particularly excited about Pok\u00e9mon XP, which will feature activities beyond competitive play.<\/p>\n

“It’s the first time to have a get-together with everyone. They’ll have all these little booths,” she said.<\/p>\n

MORE: Wave of Pokemon card robberies in San Francisco spark alarm across Bay Area<\/a><\/p>\n

Organizers say attendees can expect scavenger hunts, panel discussions, trading opportunities for cards and pins, and other fan-focused activities.<\/p>\n

“It’s my favorite Pok\u00e9mon and I basically want to hand these out,” Davey said while showing Pok\u00e9mon-themed items.<\/p>\n

While Moscone Center will host most of the events, the championship finals will be held at Chase Center on Aug. 30.<\/p>\n

Hotels across the city are preparing for the large crowds.<\/p>\n

“We will be completely sold out with Pok\u00e9mon attendees,” said Christina Rea, director of sales and marketing for the W San Francisco.<\/p>\n

“A lot of the attendees are coming in next Friday,” Rea said. “There’s going to be 50,000 attendees from all over the world coming in so a truly international showcase for San Francisco.”<\/p>\n

Fans say the championships and convention will be a major attraction both for the Pok\u00e9mon community and for the city itself.<\/p>\n

“Woah! Going to be awesome–especially for the city,” Tran said.<\/p>\n

With thousands of visitors expected and venues across San Francisco preparing for packed crowds, the Pok\u00e9mon World Championships and Pok\u00e9mon XP convention are set to become one of the city’s largest fan gatherings of the year.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — More than 50,000 fans are expected to descend on San Francisco next week for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440731,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[174698,101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-440730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-174698","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}