Debate erupts over Mitchell Park pickleball expansion as residents, players clash over noise, parking and court access

Palo Alto — A months‑long conflict between pickleball players and tennis users came to a head Aug. 26 as the Parks and Recreation Commission heard more than two hours of testimony for and against converting additional Mitchell Park tennis courts to pickleball and reviewed five staff options for addressing unprecedented demand.

Staff presented background data showing Mitchell Park currently houses 15 lit pickleball courts (eight dedicated, seven dual‑striped with pickleball priority) and reported repeated peak‑period overcapacity — for example, a Thursday evening spot check found 52 people playing and 61 waiting. The staff list of potential next steps ranged from converting tennis courts 3 and 4 to pickleball, to striping additional courts to support both sports, to restricting nonresident use, to building new dedicated facilities or reconfiguring other city sites.

Palo Alto Pickleball Club president David Siegel urged the commission to approve conversion of two underused tennis courts into eight additional pickleball courts, telling commissioners the club and its benefactors would pay for the work and any required equipment. “The club believes once that slide goes up … the cost to the city will be $0,” Siegel said. He said the club represents “well over 1,000 members, 58% of whom are Palo Alto residents,” and argued an…