Lake Forest council explores pickleball tournaments as community amenity; asks staff to gather data
Loading...
Summary
Council member Servos introduced an informational discussion at the March 4 meeting about holding recurring pickleball tournaments or leagues in Lake Forest; councilmembers asked staff to study feasibility and gather community input.
The Lake Forest City Council held an informational discussion on March 4, 2025 about the possibility of pickleball tournaments or leagues in the city, led by Council member Servos. The item was informational only; no formal action or funding commitment occurred.
Council member Servos said the idea originated from community interest and discussed formats ranging from HOA competitions to city-coordinated events. He noted the city currently has access to five public courts — three at Portola and two at Rimgate — and that other courts exist inside homeowners associations or private facilities. Servos said the goal would be a recurring amenity to encourage community engagement, not a one-off event.
Council members voiced a mix of support and caution. One council member said tournaments should be open to all Lake Forest residents rather than limited to HOAs because not all residents belong to HOAs. The mayor raised a concern about precedent, saying the city sponsors some events but should be cautious about obligating funding for many different sports. Councilman Benjamin Yu suggested a district-based amateur competition with limited staff hours and a fee-based registration model to recover costs.
Staff said it could follow prior small-scale efforts and reach out to contract instructors and local private facilities; the city’s contract instructor had run a small tournament in February 2022, and staff could explore expanding that model or working with private venues. City staff suggested people provide input through the Ask Lake Forest online system; City Manager said, “If people wanted to give us their ideas on a pickleball tournament, they could use the Ask Lake Forest system and just submit and we will get that and we will get back to them and acknowledge their input.”
Council asked staff to compile an inventory of public and HOA-owned courts and to report back with options for how a tournament or league could be structured, potential costs and fee-recovery models. The discussion closed as informational only; no vote was taken.
