The Barnes Center in Point Loma shakes up the pickleball vs. tennis war

A two-year turf war between tennis and pickleball players over the location of San Diego’s centralized pickleball facility took a major turn this week when the Point Lomas Barnes Tennis Center announced it will soon have 19 pickleball courts.

Tennis advocates hailed the new courts as a game changer that could end a bitter war that has included drone flights aimed at showing underuse of tennis courts and allegations of falsified match logs.

Pickleball advocates acknowledged the significance of the announcement, but called it a sneaky attempt to squelch a separate proposal to convert six of the 12 existing tennis courts at the Point Lomas Peninsula Tennis Club to saltball.

Since one tennis court can be converted into four pickleball courts, the facility proposed for the peninsula would have been large enough to serve as a local pickleball center advocates desperately needed.

We’ve been sandbagged, pickle ball supporter Kevin Bacon said at Thursday’s meeting of San Diegos Parks and Recreation Board. You did a great job. You got us. Good for you.

After months of lobbying, the park board had agreed to consider the peninsula proposal. But Barnes’ surprising counterproposal appears to have eliminated the need to change the peninsula’s courts.

David Coppa, another pickleball supporter, said Barnes would help the neighboring tennis facility on the peninsula, but also improve its own finances.

This is about generating revenue for tennis, he said, suggesting that Barnes charges relatively high prices for the salt ball. The light came on and they realized that there is money in the pickle ball.

People from the tennis and pickleball communities spoke at the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Board meeting in Balboa Park on Thursday, June 15, 2023. A photo of the Peninsula Tennis Club and Barnes Tennis Center is shown here during the presentation.

(KC Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Barnes CEO Ryan Redondo said all proceeds from the new pickleball courts will go directly to the youth tennis programs.

Barnes recently added four pickle fields, added three this week and will add a final 12 by the end of July, he said. Barnes also has 25 tennis courts and seven padel courts, another racquet sport that is growing in popularity.

The proposal to relocate the Peninsula courts has led to closed-door meetings at City Hall and shouting matches between tennis and pickleball players since it was announced two years ago.

The turbulence mirrors disputes across the nation, where tennis and pickleball players have battled each other from city to city over the need for a similar paved surface for their courts.

Before the pandemic, supporters of salt ball, which resembles a combination of tennis, ping pong and badminton, could argue that tennis courts should be changed because tennis was losing popularity.

But the dire need for outdoor activities during the pandemic led to an increase in tennis playing nationwide, making the battle between tennis and saltball even more difficult.

City officials say they are reluctant to begin converting any of the city’s 12 tennis complexes, including Barnes and Peninsula. Each of them is run by non-profit groups that have been in operation for several years.

So instead, the city is slowly creating pickleball courts in city parks. Scripps Ranch has just one dedicated pickle field, but 10 more are in the works: two in Golden Hill, four in Kearny Mesa and four in Colina del Sol Park near El Cerrito.

In addition, the city has re-striped several tennis courts to accommodate both tennis and pickleball. There are now 109 re-striped courts in 33 locations across the city.

We understand the popularity, city parks program manager Salome Martinez told the park board Thursday. The department strives to meet the needs of the community when it comes to pickleball.

Striking often frustrates tennis fans, who say striped courts are a visually unpleasing labyrinth of lines. And the re-striping also hasn’t been fully embraced by many pickleball supporters who just like pickleball courts.

Tennis supporters said they hope the announcement that Barnes has 19 dedicated pickleball courts can calm any disagreements of the past two years.

Padel, pickleball and tennis courts spread across 16 acres at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego on April 11, 2023. Private clubs and public spaces are striving to be more things to more people as they try to unseat tennis and fast-growing racquet sports like pickleball. (Sandy Huffaker/The New York Times)

(SANDY HUFFAKER/NOW)

I find it ridiculous how much time and resources our tennis advocacy committee has spent defending and trying to preserve the tennis courts at the Peninsula Tennis Club for two years now, said Jeff Greenwald of the San Diego District Tennis Association. We have turned all our attention to this matter.

Peninsulas President Todd Sprague said Barnes’ 19 courts should serve as a temporary solution until new permanent courts can be added at Point Lomas Robb Field, which includes the Peninsula complex.

It is time to stop burdening the peninsula with all the defenses it has had to mount against all attacks, he said. We understand that there is a need for a pickle ball in the community; which is not lost on us. It would be unheard of to ask the city to destroy a functioning facility.

Juliana Humphrey, head of the group behind the peninsula proposal, said salt ball players should lead the center pepper.

Pickleball courts should be maintained by pickleball players or professionals, he said. At tennis clubs, the pickle ball is never a priority, it is never equal. It’s kind of a side gig.

The park board praised Barnes’ proposal, but said its cryptic merger shows that tennis and pickle ball supporters still don’t cooperate or have a fruitful dialogue.

Both sides insisted that their 15-minute presentations to the park board not be revealed before the meeting, board chairwoman Marcella Bothwell said.

Bothwell said he’s glad Barnes has stepped up operations to meet the strong local demand for pickle fields.