Tennis and pickleball are both extremely popular in Coronado, and for the past few years they’ve shared space on the city’s tennis courts. However, it’s an arrangement with which neither side is pleased. A few weeks ago, a group of pickleball players approached Councilman Richard Bailey for help. After hearing them out, he contacted the Coronado Tennis Association (CTA) in what he said was an effort to find “the best solution for tennis and pickleball.”
The issue came before the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission last Monday and both sides pleaded their case.
Basically pickleball players want the city to accommodate them by building a new facility for their sport or adding pickleball lines the city’s courts. Tennis players simply want pickleball played elsewhere.
“I’m not against pickleball, I think its great,” said Jennie Portelli, President of the Coronado Tennis Association (CTA). “We’re fine with city’s pickleball program remain on tennis courts until other locations are found.”
Pickleball is a relatively new racquet sport, but it has grown in popularity exponentially in the past few years. The game was invented in Bainbridge Island, Washington, 50 years ago; the first pickleball association formed 1981. It’s played with a short wooden paddle, a hard plastic ball and a small net, similar to one used for badminton.
“It’s easy to learn and is especially popular with the 50-plus players,” said Roger Miller, the city’s interim Director of Recreation.
“Older folks who loved tennis and other racquet sports reach a point in life when tennis is just to onerous on the body,” said Michael Fraser, who holds pickleball clinics at the Tennis Center.
The sport came to Coronado in 2012. At that time it had less than 10 players. Now there are over 200 regular players, although 75% are nonresidents, according to Miller. “Pickleball is growing in a big way,” said Sue Hites, the Tennis Center’s scheduling coordinator. “People are coming out to play, having fun and are getting addicted.”
Because of its popularity among aging tennis players and with only a handful of players, converting tennis courts for pickleball made sense. At first only one court was necessary to support the players who turned up at the city’s courts.
Now, the city converts two tennis courts for pickleball on Saturdays between 2:30 and 6pm at the Tennis Center, two at the Robbin Adair courts on Wednesdays between 6:30 and 9 pm and one at Cays Courts on Fridays between 12:30 and 3pm, according to Tammy Carney, Pickleball Ambassador at the Tennis Center.
But as popular as pickleball has become, tennis is every more popular locally, and demand for courts has never been higher.
“Tennis in our community is huge,” said Hites “It’s hard to put a number on players because so many people play tennis at all levels in Coronado.”
Besides frustrating tennis players looking for court space, allowing pickleball on courts designed for tennis presents a number of challenges, according to Miller. Reconfiguring the courts, putting down temporary lines and replacing the net, is labor intensive. It also leaves the courts dirty, tennis players complain. Fuzz from tennis balls litters the courts after the lines are removed, they say.
Pickleball players aren’t pleased with the temporary measures either. They want a more permanent venue and have proposed adding pickleball lines to existing courts or building a separate pickleball facility.
Tennis players counter that permanent pickleball lines on the tennis courts confuse tennis players and affect their game. More importantly for competitive players, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) only allows tournaments to held on courts striped for tennis. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has the same rule.
It’s not just sports federations that prohibit other activities on tennis courts. Coronado’s municipal code stipulates that only tennis can be played on tennis courts, unless approved by the recreation director.
If the city were to go along with the pickleball players’ requests, tournament and league play for both adults and juniors would stop. “We’ve had league matches here since the 1970’s,” Portelli said.
Across the bridge, only one tennis facility, Bobby Riggs in Del Mar has pickleball lines; San Diego’s two largest tennis centers, Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma and the Balboa Tennis Club in Morley Field, do not allow pickleball to be played on their courts.
Of course, building a new, dedicated pickleball facility comes with it’s own challenges. A new facility would need to be funded, and would have to make its way past several commissions and city council — a process that could take years. “There’s no way to fast track a new facility,” Miller said.
He offered a more modest and more practical alternative – moving pickleball to the gym at the recreation center, which is currently under utilized. Others have also suggested the Coronado High School gym, which some say is also under utilized.
At Monday’s Council meeting, the commission ultimately voted unanimously to keep the status quo for now, but asked Miller and his staff to continue to evaluate the situation and report back to the council.
Related: Facebook Page for Coronado PIckleball
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Gloria Tierney
Staff Writer
eCoronado.com
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