By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News
A lively discussion has been building over the past several months about limited court space for tennis and pickleball players in Steiner Ranch as the two groups share court space.
To get feedback from the community, the Steiner Ranch Master Association hosted a Tennis – Pickleball Town Hall on April 17. An estimated 110 people attended the meeting in person and via Zoom.
“With a total population of 17,000+ (8,748 males and 9,032 females) in 2021, these (eight courts) aren’t enough for the demand of tennis players,” shared Chanda Lor, league tennis player in Steiner who spoke at the town hall.
Pickleball players agree that more court space is needed and dedicated courts that have the nets and boundaries specifically for pickleball. A member of the pickleball community called the town hall a “spirited debate from both sides giving their opinions.”
Speakers at the town hall included advocates for pickleball and advocates for tennis. Comments focused on the need for more than eight tennis courts, the need for dedicated pickleball courts, and refining the system of reserving courts. Many offered data to back up why they think more court space is needed. Others offered solutions to consider on how to deal with accommodating the popularity of both sports.
“We felt the town hall was very helpful to the board and the community.The feedback at the event will play a role in the board’s decision as to how to move forward,” shared Amy Yukich, SRMA president.
Pickleball
For several years, the pickleball community has been growing in Steiner.
Up until now, the group had no official representation with the HOA. Following the town hall, the group was given the go-ahead to form an official Pickleball Committee. That will allow the group to speak to the HOA in an official capacity and share concerns, needs and ideas.
This is a major development because up until now the committee structure has been such that the Tennis Committee meets with the HOA regularly to discuss issues with the courts and present ideas. Currently there are no pickleballers on the Tennis Committee, and the efforts to rename it to the “Court Committee” was not well received, according to a representative from the pickleball community.
The more established Tennis Committee has been largely responsible for the Steiner courts and decisions made concerning pickleball since the two groups share the courts.
“Because of this, many of the decisions being made were in favor of tennis and the many requests of the pickleball community had fallen on deaf ears,” the pickleball representative shared.
In recent months a core group of pickleballers have had hundreds of one-on-one conversations with local residents to understand the needs of the community.
Observational data gathered showing the weekend usage of four of the eight courts in Steiner (the ones lined for pickleball) are almost 100% used for pickleball on the weekends, according to the pickleball source.
As momentum for more pickleball representation has been building, advocates for the sport started a Change.org petition on April 4. “Petition to Convert One Tennis Court into Four Pickleball Courts in Steiner Ranch” had collected 325 signees by April 23.
“Our community of pickleball enthusiasts have put forth a simple and straightforward proposal to convert one tennis court (Bella Mar Court # 1) into four pickleball courts. Bella Mar is not used for USTA or WTTA matches, so this proposal is respectful of the current tennis community and their leagues, while creating dedicated space and the proper equipment needed to play pickleball,” the petition states.
Tennis
The Tennis Committee launched a counter petition on April 6 “Protect Established Tennis Court Amenities in Steiner Ranch” which is opposed to the conversion of one tennis court to four pickleball courts in Steiner. It had also collected 325 signatures by April 23.
The petition states: “Tennis is the approved, established, and utilized community amenity. Just because tennis and pickleball are similar in nature does not mean that established tennis amenities should be removed and retrofitted for pickleball courts.”
“To take tennis court amenities away at Bella Mar and give it to pickleball players is detrimental for this community and for tennis,” according to the petition.
The petition further states that the conversion of a single tennis court to four pickleball courts does not live up to the standards of Steiner amenities. It will be crowded for players and spectators and impact play.
The petitioners aim is to maintain our community’s established tennis amenities in order to preserve court availability for recreational players, families, and established tennis leagues, while continuing to share tennis amenities with pickleball players, allowing pickleball players to reserve and play on four tennis courts at John Simpson and Bella Mar.
The petition concludes: “Tennis players support the pickleball community and want to help raise funds and awareness for building new, separate pickleball facilities at Towne Square. Although tennis players are currently sharing four tennis courts for pickleball use, they are also getting quotes and working on proposals to build new pickleball courts, separate from tennis courts. Many tennis players also enjoy pickleball and feel that a new and separate pickleball amenity would benefit the community greatly.”
Tennis league player Lor would like to see a long term solution of six pickleball courts to accommodate future leagues and recreation usage.
“I strongly encourage you to explore and consider a separate site for PB courts for long term growth purposes while preserving current established tennis courts,” Lor shared.
But for now she encourages patience to the pickleball players.
“I urge pickleball players to practice patience… Tennis courts didn’t exist overnight for Steiner… Therefore, the same principle of being patient is monumental,” said Lor, who cited that Steiner gradually added more tennis courts over multiple years. “Adding pickleball amenities can be done within one year or so, if you request the community for support. This pickleball project can be achieved in a fasttrack manner.”
HOA next steps
After the town hall, President Yukich shared that the SRMA Board plans to meet with smaller groups and some individual residents to discuss the problem and the possible solutions. Additionally, the board is also doing its own research and is having lengthy discussions about what is best for the community,
“This board is committed to asking the residents to formally vote whether a capital improvement like a new pickleball court is warranted,” Yukich said. “They (residents) will be provided not only with the estimate to build a new amenity, but also the costs of its maintenance and how that will impact their annual dues.”
The board is also hiring a civil engineer to assess the community parks and the Steiner Ranch Lake Club with regards to maximizing those spaces, and find out the challenges SRMA may face with the lack of impervious cover, Yukich said.
“At the (town hall), many residents expressed their concerns and disappointment with the dog park, which will also be evaluated within the scope of the civil engineer’s work,” Yukich said. “It is crucial that we have a full picture of the resources available to us in both real estate and our finances.”