Pickleball arrived in Beverly Hills only four years ago, but as more than a dozen avid players who attended the Aug. 27 Recreation and Parks Commission meeting made clear, the country’s fastest-growing sport is here to stay.
During more than an hour of public comment, the players urged the city to make its pickleball “pilot” program permanent, add new courts, improve conditions of the existing courts and revamp the online sign-up system.
The commission was receptive to these concerns and agreed to begin implementing the changes even before getting the results back from a forthcoming survey about the pickleball program.
“We all agree that it is time to move forward with a permanent program,” said Chair Amie Sherry, herself a dedicated pickleball player said. “I don’t think that we need results of a survey to all agree that we need to permanently stripe our pickleball courts, upgrade our nets ASAP, make sure that we have safe and clean courts and all of the other things we can continue to work on.”
Echoing many of the public commenters, Sherry said she was drawn to the game by the strong community it fostered as well as by the fun of playing the game.
“We have created a community of friends, incredible players, and it is our life, and it’s wonderful,” she said.
After kicking off in January 2020, the pickleball program was put on pause in March following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. It restarted a year later and quickly gained a devoted following.
According to a staff report, there were more than 5,140 pickleball reservations between March 2021 and March 2022, and the numbers have only continued to rise since then. So far this year, there have been a total of 11,261 reservations, up from 4,847 in 2023, according to a staff report. For comparison, the city’s tennis courts were reserved more than 13,000 times this year, up from 7,034 in 2023.
There are 13 pickleball courts in the city, with seven at La Cienega Park and four at Roxbury Park. In both parks, tennis courts have been repurposed to accommodate pickleball’s smaller field of play.
But according the pickleball community, the city’s investment in the sport has not kept pace with its growth.
Alissa Roston, who ran for a seat on the City Council last year, said the courts at Roxbury Park are poorly maintained and rarely cleared of debris, while “potholes” in the ground threaten players’ safety.
“It’s disheartening, after being a resident for 40 years, to see that our parks are sorely lacking in proper facilities,” Deborah Frank said. “Both Roxbury and La Cienega [parks] fall short with inadequate court markings, uneven surfaces and broken nets. I know you’ve heard this before.”
Franne Goldberg, another public commenter, added that the online reservation system is “a nightmare,” with both court bookings and payments being frequently “jammed up.” Like all the other public commenters, she also urged the commission not to wait for the results of a forthcoming survey before beginning to implement the changes.
The commissioners were unanimously supportive and vowed to move quickly.
“I agree with all of you. I support all of you,” Vice Chair Deborah Termeie said. “I think this is great for mental health. This is community, this is exercise, and we should have done this a long time ago.”
In response to a question from Termeie, Community Services Director Stephanie Harris explained that pickleball initially received some pushback from residents who complained that it was noisier than tennis.
She added that the costs for the program are currently absorbed by the operating budget of her department, but permanently striping the courts, repairing the nets and overhauling the online portal will require additional expenses, and staff will need to determine the accompanying costs before bringing the matter to vote by the City Council.
After meeting with City Council liaisons, Harris expects the full council to vote on the matter in early October.
