Atherton committee weighs permanent pickleball conversion, donor funding and court scheduling

Atherton Town Parks and Recreation Committee members, park staff and several residents on June 1 discussed options to increase pickleball capacity at Holbrook Palmer Park and asked staff to return with cost estimates and revenue figures.

The discussion, led by staff presenter Robert, began after the Town Council asked the committee to explore expansion options. Robert reviewed standard court dimensions from USA Pickleball and presented possible configurations: converting an existing tennis court to multiple pickleball courts, replacing the handball court, or creating new permanent courts behind the current tennis courts near the rail line. He told the committee the USA Pickleball guidance shows a 20-by-44-foot court footprint (not including run-off), and that new construction generally recommends about 34 feet width and 64 feet length to allow required side and back areas. Robert said the existing tennis courts measure roughly 60 feet by 20 feet and the handball court about 30 by 60, so some conversion options would fit within existing footprints.

Resident Don Keller urged the committee to plan for community-building capacity and recommended four permanent courts, saying the sport "is an unbelievable community development sport" that draws participants across ages. Resident Kat Westover, who has been attending meetings since the town began discussing pickleball, said the Holbrook Palmer Park court has sufficient width and argued for some "drop in" open-play times in addition to reservation slots. Several commenters and committee members raised concerns about morning and weekend demand, noting courts and reservations are heavily used on Saturdays.

Committee members and staff discussed three near-term priorities: (1) a focused cost estimate for converting Court 1 from the current temporary overstriping to a permanent multi-court surface and permanent nets, (2) an estimate to convert the handball court and adjacent area into additional courts or permanent courts behind the back courts, and (3) a cost estimate to convert the clay court back to a hard court if the committee wants to preserve overall tennis capacity. Robert said resurfacing and repainting (not full asphalt replacement) for a permanent conversion would likely be in the tens of thousands of dollars, with a rough conceptual figure of $20,000–$30,000 for restriping and surface coating noted during discussion.

Committee members also sought operational fixes: staff were asked to provide rental and key-revenue figures for the clay court and to examine reservation patterns. Members and residents raised concerns that a private operator, Player Capital, reserves multiple courts and sometimes those reservations are not used; participants suggested staff ask the operator (named in the discussion as Michael) to release unused reservations with adequate notice. The committee directed staff to bring usage data, revenue numbers and firm cost estimates back to the next meeting to support a recommendation; Rick reported he is working with a potential donor who wants cost figures before committing funds.

No formal motion or vote was taken. The committee reached consensus to collect the requested numbers and options and to continue the discussion next month, including a separate agenda item to consider open-play time slots and reservation changes.

Background: The committee is acting after a council referral to examine expansion and permanent facilities to support pickleball. Current temporary overstriping has increased usage; town staff reported pickleball court hours rose from 196 to 255 hours in a recent month. The discussion balanced demand for pickleball, preservation of tennis and clay-court donors' interests, neighbor proximity to proposed permanent courts near the rail line, and operational considerations for keys and reservations.