The City’s fast-growing pickleball community is set to benefit from major court project decisions as the San Francisco Tennis & Pickleball Planning Roundtable (SF-TAPP) completes its mission to develop recommendations for new pickleball courts in the City. Over the last 6 months, SF-TAPP, which is led by representatives from the pickleball and tennis communities, has worked to better understand the needs of our growing community.

Progress

Community engagement has been central to the process. Some 1,700 players responded to the on-line survey and another  111 who were asked in-depth questions while playing at one of five venues.  Both surveys covered individual player choices, preferences and future court design needs.  The SF-TAPP project team wants to thank everyone who responded to this important data gathering effort.  This input is a critical part of addressing RPD’s 2023-27 Strategic Plan objective 2.1.c to “identify new dedicated spaces to accommodate growth in pickleball.”  Specifically finding NEW COURT spaces to meet continued demand growth is TAPP’s primary objective.

Through the surveys and on-site interviews, SF-TAPP has gathered insights from  players.  For example, players prefer to have courts “nearby” (no surprise), desperately want evening play options (i.e. lighted courts) and convenient parking. and moderate size venues with six to eight courts (for better balanced wait times). Along with player demographics and insights around operating preferences, such as “Open Play or Reserved Courts” (it was a tossup and most like “both”), enough information was captured to not only help with site selection, but also shape future venue operations policy and required amenities (like bathrooms).

In parallel, the TAPP team has worked with Rec and Park’s Capital Planning staff to identify potential new sites throughout the City.  The search started with existing hardscape sites and expanded to other greenspace that would require only minimal soil grading (since earth moving is expensive).  After developing a filter/rating process that used criteria such as proximity to residences, parking availability, and restroom availability, each of the potential locations was “scored” and ranked for potential suitability as a Pickleball court venue. This process has provided a measure of balanced land use consideration of areas across the city, including impacts to other stakeholders at each site.

Next Steps

The TAPP project’s target is a final report with development recommendations delivered to the Rec & Park Commission by summer. A limited number of additional “focus group” player interviews will be conducted in early Spring, and SF-TAPP continues to collaborate with city officials to explore funding requirements.  Conversations have already begun on how to find creative funding partnerships to bring this vision into reality

This initiative represents a significant investment in making San Francisco a more pickleball-friendly city while balancing the needs of all public recreation and park users.