TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager work with the Director of Parks, Recreation and Marine as well as the Long Beach Pickleball Advisory Group to develop a plan for the future of pickleball in Long Beach including; the feasibility of, converting all tennis courts to dual use courts, creating dedicated pickleball courts, developing a minimum amount of storage at each park for equipment, and exploring further partnerships with local schools for joint use of LBUSD tennis courts. This report back to City Council is requested within 60 days.
DISCUSSION
As pickleball continues to grow as a popular form of exercise and recreation for Long Beach residents our Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine Department has worked to accommodate the increasing use of various types of courts citywide for pickleball use. The Parks, Recreation and Marine Department have been working collaboratively with the Long Beach Pickleball Advisory Group to make progress on this topic and find opportunities for the expansion of this sport and engagement with the various user groups. The Pickleball Advisory Group has been a fantastic partner with the City and have put in a tremendous amount of work specifically over the past six months to improve access to pickleball here in Long Beach.
This collaborative work with our Parks, Recreation and Marine Department has come in the form of looking at individual courts for conversion to multi-use courts or installing small storage bins for user groups to store equipment, as well as discussions on possibilities for sharing individual courts and allowing additional access to school property during evening and weekend hours for residents to play pickleball. These efforts have led to good progress, however, the popularity and number of residents interested in participating is increasing leading to the need for the development of a plan for the future of pickleball here in Long Beach. What is needed is a comprehensive approach to expanding access and availability of pickleball to ensure we can meet the growing and diverse demand for this sport throughout our City.
FISCAL IMPACT
No Fiscal Impact has been completed on this item, however the fiscal impact is expected to be minimal.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
SUZIE PRICE COUNCILWOMAN,
THIRD DISTRICT
STACY MUNGO COUNCILWOMAN,
FIFTH DISTRICT