Hello dear Wayfarer community
I’m relatively new to the amazing process of nominating, evaluating, and promoting Wayspots, and today I’d like to ask for your kind guidance and insights regarding a specific PokéStop that I believe has great potential to be upgraded to a Pokémon Gym.
The PokéStop in question is called “Máquina de ejercicios” (translated as Exercise Machine), and it is located in a peaceful, well-frequented community plaza in my neighborhood. This stop has existed for over 5 years and is a popular gathering place not only for Pokémon GO players but also for residents who come to exercise, relax, or socialize.
Exact location:
Pasaje Cerro Balazarte
Puente Alto, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile
Coordinates: 33.60198° S, 70.55649° W
Over time, this PokéStop has become a small hub for trainers in the area. I’ve personally witnessed regular player activity here — from solo trainers spinning stops, to small groups gathering for events or just enjoying the local space. It’s one of the few points in the area that consistently brings the community together.
What motivates me to post this is the wish to see this space recognized for its impact. Upgrading this PokéStop to a Gym could offer greater opportunities for player interaction, team-based challenges, and event participation — adding even more life to an already active local spot. Its longevity and community value speak for themselves.
My main questions are:
- Is it possible to actively suggest or influence the upgrade of this PokéStop to a Gym?
- Are there specific requirements (like local cell density, number of existing Wayspots, or player activity) that determine Gym conversions?
- Has anyone here successfully seen a PokéStop in a similar situation become a Gym — and if so, how did it happen?
I’d really appreciate any advice or shared experiences from this wonderful and experienced community. Thank you so much in advance for taking the time to read and help. 
Let’s keep making our communities better — both in-game and in real life!
Hello and Welcome to the forum @Sunnisita
I’m glad to hear that you are enjoying Wayfaring in addition to Pokemon Go. It can be incredibly rewarding and fun to do.
Unfortunately game inclusion rules and Gym creation are part of the Pokemon Go team’s responsibility. So there is not much we can do to advise you about Gym determination .
Again welcome and feel free to explore the threads and conversations here. Feel free to ask questions too!
2 Likes
How í can talk with pokemon go team?
For this type of thing I don’t think there is a good way to do it. It is my understanding that they don’t currently want players to be able to influence gym locations.
1 Like
To answer your specific questions…
-
Is it possible to actively suggest or influence the upgrade of this PokéStop to a Gym?
No. It is believed that votes for a stops photos did influence but it seems that it is now random. Stops players from trying to bunch the Gyms in to areas that suit them best.
-
Are there specific requirements (like local cell density, number of existing Wayspots, or player activity) that determine Gym conversions?
Yes: This is done using S2 Cells, more details here https://pokemongohub.net/post/article/comprehensive-guide-s2-cells-pokemon-go/ .
-
Has anyone here successfully seen a PokéStop in a similar situation become a Gym — and if so, how did it happen?
Only by luck. When a L14 cell reaches 2, 6 and 20 waypoints 1 is picked at randon to become a Gym
Hope this helps.
Good luck.
2 Likes
Do read the information about the S2 cells carefully.
This will hopefully make more sense once you have read it 
The Level 14 cell that this particular Pokestop is in, has I think 14 pokestops and 2 gyms. I can’t be sure as I don’t have access to changes that have happened over the past 2 months. So it’s important you check on what you see.
If it is 16 in total then you only need 4 more to trigger a 3rd gym.
As others have said you can’t request a specific pokestop becomes a gym.
So if you look around and can find 4 potential wayspots you can submit and if they are pokestops it should give a 3rd gym somewhere in that cell.
Do have a good explore around for potential wayspots and research your cell .
We can advise about those wayspot submissions if it is helpful.
Ooh really, thank you so much <3 although I still don’t understand the cells —
where should I place PokéStops so that a Pokémon Gym is created? Can you see it better with these images? And from where to where can I identify the cell?
You should place wayspots where the POI is. Do not put a wayspot at a false location solely to get a pokestop or gym created, as this is considered abuse and can lead to account suspension.
What you /can/ do is use the cell boundaries to decide where to look for interesting things, but it is just as easy to go round and find valid things, then submit them. Hunting in a cell, desperately to find /something/, because you need a pokestop in that cell, can lead to garbage being submitted.
1 Like
You need to read the information about the cells, and understand it. It comes from observations made by fellow wayfinders and is not official.
It’s important as a wayfinder you explore and find wayfarer eligible objects and places, and that these are placed in their correct location and not to try and manipulate them to appear on the map.
But you can concentrate your efforts within that level 14 cell. A tool called IITC is commonly used. It uses data provided for the Ingress game. It comes with a health warning as the information may be out of date. What you see as you walk about in Pokémon Go is more accurate. But looking at IITC will enable you to see the cells.
If there are no eligible wayspots you have to accept that. It just sometimes is not possible. You can then turn your wayfarer skills to a different area to explore.
You may not get what you want from this effort especially as you want something specific. Approach this as an opportunity to create good wayspots and if your concentrated efforts produce a gym then regard that as a plus.
There are 14+ pokestops and 2 gyms in the level 14 cell. To get a third gym, you will need a total of 18 pokestops in addition to the 2 gyms. Assuming you do this, each pokestop will have a 1 in 18 chance of becoming the third gym.
That means that the pokestop you really want to be a gym has at best a 5% chance of becoming a gym.
That would be a fair amount of work, assuming you can find 4 new valid POI to be pokestops, in order to get a slim chance of your desired outcome.
The best thing you can do is discard the idea that “Máquina de ejercicios” will become a gym.
1 Like
