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City to open 12 temporary pickleball courts on Desert Community College site this summer
Summary
Palm Springs staff announced a sublease with Desert Community College District to convert three vacant tennis courts into 12 temporary pickleball courts; construction expected to take 4–6 weeks and courts to open between June and July, with no evening use because there are no lights or restrooms on the college site.
Palm Springs officials said the city will convert three vacant tennis courts at the Desert Community College District temporary campus into 12 temporary pickleball courts after the school board and the city complete approvals and the college board signs the sublease.
The announcement came during public business when Councilmember Gardner asked staff for an update on item 1J. Nick Gonzales, director of parks and recreation, said the Palm Springs Unified School District approved the plan the night before, the City Council was scheduled to consider it that evening, and the Desert Community College Board of Trustees was set to consider the sublease on Friday. "Assuming all of those boards and councils have approved it, we will in go through contract signatures for that next week, and then we'll start construction, and that'll usually take about 4 to 6 weeks," Gonzales said.
Gonzales said the courts will be open "sometime between June and July." He explained limits tied to the college site: there are no lights and no public restrooms on the campus, so the city will limit hours to "sunrise to sunset" and will not power the existing (nonfunctional) lights. Council members asked staff to notify nearby residents and neighborhood organizations about noise and other neighborhood concerns. Gonzales said the parks department will post rules on its website, issue a press release, and use social media to communicate schedule and details.
Council members discussed funding: Councilmember Reddy asked about the roughly $20,000 per year rent and the estimated $75,000 to get courts up and running. Gonzales said the city has funds in its current operating budget—a line item for tennis and pickleball events—that will be used this fiscal year and has funding allocated for the next fiscal year as well. He said if the sublease and college approvals clear, construction will move forward under that budget.
Gonzales said the courts will be separated from other campus uses and that the city would notify the neighborhood organization across the way about potential noise issues. Councilmembers asked staff to provide timely notice as approvals proceed and to monitor impacts.
The consent calendar that included item 1J was approved with select items pulled for discussion; staff provided the update on the pickleball item but no separate vote on the sublease was recorded in public testimony that evening.
City staff advised that additional operational details—rules, scheduling, and contact information—will be posted on the parks department website and issued in a press release when the contract signatures are complete and construction start dates are set.
