DATE: 11/19/2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Community Services Department
2025-447
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
PICKLEBALL AT EL CERRITO PARK OPTIONS UPDATE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to provide direction on Capital Improvement Project No. FC-2026-05 for pickleball courts at El Cerrito Park or other potential locations.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council provide direction on Capital Improvement Project No. FC-2026-05 to construct pickleball courts at El Cerrito Park or other potential locations.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
Demand is growing for pickleball. From 2023–2024, participation in the sport increased by 46% throughout the U.S. Pickleball courts were identified as one of the top four key outdoor features most desired by residents in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan (PRMP). The PRMP calls for 23 pickleball courts to meet the level of service (LOS) guidelines (one court per 7,300 residents). Currently, the City has 12 dedicated pickleball courts (10 at Border Park and two at Husted Park), plus five multi-use courts (three at Circle City Center and two at El Cerrito Park) that can be used for pickleball. This brings the total to 17 courts throughout the City. Thus, an additional six courts are required to fulfill the PRMP LOS guidelines.
Demand for tennis has also seen slight growth, with participation in the sport increasing by 8% from 2023 to 2024. Corona currently has 19 tennis courts located at seven parks throughout the City, and three of these courts are located 1.8 miles from the proposed project site. The number of existing tennis courts currently meets the PRMP LOS guidelines (one court per 8,400 residents).
To address the need for additional pickleball courts, staff proposed a capital improvement project (CIP) in the FY 2026 budget to convert two tennis courts at El Cerrito Park into eight pickleball courts and construct four new pickleball courts on a vacant parcel adjacent to the tennis courts, for a total of 12 new pickleball courts.
Per the request of City Council, the FY 2026 CIP to construct new pickleball courts at El Cerrito Park was put on hold to provide time to evaluate the impact of several new private pay pickleball courts that are currently under construction at the Eagle Glen Golf Club.
Based on feedback received from the pickleball community regarding this issue, Councilmember Richins requested that this item be brought back to the City Council for reconsideration.
On August 6, 2025, staff brought the original FY 2026 CIP for pickleball courts back to City Council for discussion, along with four additional options. Differing views were presented in support and opposition from the pickleball and tennis communities regarding the five options. Based on this feedback, the Council asked staff to identify alternative options for pickleball and tennis, including utilizing space in the northwest corner of El Cerrito Park and/or other locations in the City. There were also discussions around converting the pickleball courts at Border Park back to tennis courts.
ANALYSIS:
Over the past three months, staff have researched additional options and costs for pickleball and tennis courts, identifying four new options for the City Council to consider.
Each of these new options will retain the current number of tennis courts in the community (19) and provide a net gain of pickleball courts to help fulfill PRMP LOS guidelines.
New Option 6 – Est. Cost $1,200,000
a. Construct 12 new pickleball courts at El Cerrito Park tennis courts and vacant parcel
b. Convert two pickleball courts at Border Park back to two tennis courts
1. Option to retain four remaining pickleball courts or convert these courts back to basketball
New Option 7 – Est. Cost $3,951,948
a. Construct 12 new pickleball courts at El Cerrito Park tennis courts and vacant parcel
b. Relocate two tennis courts to northwest corner of El Cerrito Park c. Construct additional parking at El Cerrito Park
New Option 8 – Est. Cost $3,999,198
a. Construct 11 new pickleball courts at El Cerrito Park basketball courts and vacant parcel
b. Relocate basketball courts to northwest corner of El Cerrito Park c. Construct additional parking at El Cerrito Park
New Option 9 – Est. Cost $2,345,450
a. Construct 10 new pickleball courts at Butterfield Park FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding is available within the Pickleball Facility Capital Improvement Project No. FC2026-05 for the original project. However, the cost of several of the proposed options exceeds the approved FY 2026 CIP pickleball project budget of $1,097,802. If City Council directs staff to proceed with these options, additional funding will need to be allocated from other CIP projects to help offset the funding gap of $102,198 – $2,901,396.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action seeks direction from the Council regarding the construction of new outdoor pickleball courts.
Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: DONNA FINCH, COMMUNITY SERVICES DIRECTOR
REVIEWED BY: BRETT CHANNING, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
ATTACHMENT:
1. Exhibit 1 – Pickleball Courts Update