Corona council pauses plan to convert El Cerrito tennis courts to pickleball complex after public outcry

Corona City Council voted on Aug. — after a lengthy public hearing — to pause the city’s planned conversion of El Cerrito Park tennis courts into a larger pickleball complex and directed staff to return with more analysis on alternatives and mitigation measures.

The council meeting drew more than 50 residents and players, the majority of whom were at the council dais to plead either to retain the El Cerrito tennis courts or to find separate newly built courts for pickleball. Supporters of a dedicated pickleball complex said demand for the sport has surged locally and argued the city needs a facility large enough to host lessons, leagues and tournaments. Opponents — including high school athletes, tennis coaches and parents — said the proposal would remove public tennis courts used heavily by juniors and school teams and urged the council to preserve the community’s existing tennis infrastructure.

Why it mattered: The proposal would have converted two tennis courts and added four new courts on a vacant parcel at El Cerrito Park to create up to 12 pickleball courts, a project that city staff estimated at roughly $1.1 million. Residents raised two broad categories of concern: (1) loss of tennis courts that serve high school teams, juniors and public players who rely on free courts across the city; and (2)…