Pickleball rate changes boost day‑use revenues and memberships, staff reports

Recreation staff told the commission on Aug. 19 that a rate adjustment intended to align pickleball fees with tennis-center pricing produced steep revenue gains and did not cause the membership declines staff had feared.

Jason Fierro, the community service supervisor assigned to Marguerite Tennis Pavilion, described a two-pronged change: the city increased day-use fees (example: youth from $4 to $5; adult resident from $8 to $10; selected nonresident rates to $15) and matched pickleball membership pricing to tennis-center rates. Staff reported Marguerite’s gross day-use revenue rose from roughly $12,000 to about $17,000 (≈36% increase), while Felipe’s day‑use revenue rose from under $5,000 to $28,825 (≈580% increase). Fierro said single resident memberships at Marguerite rose from 68 to 72 and at Felipe increased modestly; nonresident single memberships also increased year over year. Commissioners pressed staff on resident priority and requested data breakdowns; staff said about 60% of users are residents and 40% are nonresidents and suggested options such as prioritizing peak hours for residents, rotating reservation windows, or future fee adjustments targeting nonresidents if demand persists.

Commissioners exchanged ideas about access and equity: some urged prioritizing residents during peak times, others warned that restricting nonresidents would force up resident prices if lost nonresident revenue had to be replaced. Staff noted neighboring cities are adding pickleball courts, which may ease demand over time. "We thought maybe people might not be inclined to pay the extra charges, but the reality is we actually saw an increase in our memberships due to this as well," Fierro said on the record.