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Olympic Club outlines Westlake Park upgrade; council pulls MOU to seek neighborhood input
Summary
Olympic Club presented a draft plan to convert Westlake Park to artificial turf, add lighting, resurface courts and build a modular clubhouse; the club would pay capital costs and seek up to 28 hours/week of use. Council praised the concept but pulled the MOU from consent to allow community engagement before any licensing agreement.
The Olympic Club and Daly City staff on Monday outlined a draft public–private partnership to upgrade Westlake Park, proposing artificial turf, new lighting, scoreboards, added spectator seating, resurfaced courts and a modular clubhouse.
City staff introduced the plan and said it is linked to a memorandum of understanding scheduled on the consent calendar. Tim Nevin, a city staff member leading the presentation, told the council: “Tonight's presentation is regarding proposed improvements to Westlake Park and an opportunity for a public private partnership between the city of Daly City and the Olympic Club.”
The Olympic Club’s athletic director, Nick Lesson, said the club would carry capital costs for the project and accept responsibility for long-term turf replacement, which the club estimated at an 8–10 year lifespan. “We are one of the country's oldest athletic clubs dating back to 1860,” Lesson said, describing the club’s desire for a neighborhood home for multiple field sports. Under the current draft, the presentation said the club would pay the capital cost, operate and maintain the field, and pay the city $50,000 annually under a proposed 15-year term with three five-year extensions.
The draft plan would allow the club up to 28 hours per week of field use, provide rights for up to five summer camps per year and reserve exclusive use of the proposed clubhouse and new pickleball courts for club programming. Nevin and club representatives repeatedly emphasized that these plans are drafts: final terms would be set in a licensing agreement that must be negotiated with staff and approved by the council.
Council members broadly welcomed the proposal but pressed for safeguards. Council Member D. Giovani raised concerns that all-day Saturday uses could limit informal family access to the park and urged explicit neighborhood outreach before any agreement. The council also pressed staff and the club about potential parking loss if new courts are added, protections for legacy community events and youth programs (including the Junior Giants), and measures to address stray golf balls from the adjacent golf course.
Eric Star, a current Olympic Club field committee member, stressed the MOU on the agenda is nonbinding. “This is simply a nonbinding memorandum of understanding,” he told council, adding that the licensing agreement would require a later council vote.
The council acted on the consent calendar by pulling the MOU for additional review and community outreach rather than approving it at Monday’s meeting. Next steps identified by staff and club officials include neighborhood meetings, targeted outreach to local youth organizations and seniors, and further negotiation of the licensing agreement and operations and maintenance terms before any construction or exclusive uses occur.
What’s next: staff and Olympic Club representatives said they will conduct community engagement over the coming weeks, refine design options with neighborhood feedback, and return to the council with a proposed licensing agreement that would require council approval before facility changes or construction occur.
