A response from Dana Ketcham at SF Rec & Park

Hi everyone - Thank you for your support for this improvement to pickleball courts 14A-D at Goldman Tennis Center. Unfortunately, the resurfacing of the courts took place without this change being implemented. It was not until last Friday that I received a thorough explanation for why the city did not make the change. It is included below. 

-----------------------------

From: "Ketcham, Dana (REC)" <dana.ketcham@sfgov.org>
Date: October 9, 2026 at 4:24:45 PM PDT
Subject: Fw: Support for pickleball court improvements at Goldman Tennis Center

Dear  Sarah,

I understand you were inquiring about reorienting the four pickleball courts on court 14 from the current east/west layout to a north/south configuration. Originally court 14 was going to be only a tennis courts and then it developed to offer pickleball options and then dedicated pickleball.  This lead to the current orientation which is not ideal. Orienting courts A–D north/south was considered at the last minute during the 2021 renovation but at that time, gate access to the back courts was deemed problematic because circulation could not occur along the court sidelines. To clarify, when we refer to “gate” access, we mean all entrances and exits to the pickleball courts. At present, players reach courts A and B by walking along the sides of courts C and D.

We looked at your request and noted the following:

• We believe that if courts A–D were reoriented north/south, players would instead need to cross courts B, C, and D along the baselines to reach court A, which presents circulation concerns. So gates would need to be redone adding expense. 
• The lighting could be a significant issue  as lights were not laid out to cover that direction and it would need to be studied. We were concerned that we  would be making it better for morning/evening players on days which are sunny but if lighting is not adequate for night play - then we will have a much more expensive problem.  Also, the sun is only a problem on one side of the court and you switch sides. 
• Any changes to the current configuration would require a full outreach process and consensus from stakeholders to ensure we understand and address the impacts.
• If full agreement were reached to move forward, additional costs would be incurred to plug the existing net post sleeves, install new net post systems aligned with the new orientation, and install a new gate. The estimate was $25,000.  The funds we are using to renovate the courts are dedicated to court resurfacing not court renovations so an alternative source of funds would need to be found.

We were under a tight timeframe to get the current resurfacing project done with contractors already scheduled and courts blocked out so we just could not get it done. But we will be sure to try to plan for this in the future for the next court resurfacing project and see if additional funds can be raised to cover any necessary changes.

I can understand your frustration, and we will try to plan for the future.

Dana Ketcham
Director of Property Management, Permits and Reservations
San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department
501 Stanyan Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
415-831-6868