Beverly Hills Pickleball Pilot Program: The Beverly Hills City Council voted on August 5 to officially finalize the city’s pickleball pilot program. The program, which began in January 2020, brought pickleball to public courts in Beverly Hills. The final plan will keep four courts at Roxbury Park Tennis Center and expand pickleball space at La Cienega Tennis Center.
Expanding and Adjusting Courts
The La Cienega Tennis Center will add four new pickleball courts. However, four existing pickleball courts will be converted back to a tennis court after a city noise study found that the north-end courts near Le Doux Road exceeded county noise guidelines.
“That sound study did find that the presence of pickleball on tennis court No. 1 did violate the L.A. County recommended noise guidelines of 50 decibels. Based off of that, the idea was to move pickleball from tennis court No. 1,”
said Beverly Hills Recreation Services Manager Michael Muse.
After the changes, La Cienega Tennis Center will have a total of 12 pickleball courts. The one-time reconfiguration cost is $99,360, with an annual program cost of $25,600.
Growing Popularity and Revenue
Revenue from both tennis and pickleball has increased since 2021. In 2024, pickleball brought in about $337,000 from 28,426 reservations, while tennis brought in about $376,000 from 30,754 reservations.
Resident Michael Lipman, a pickleball player, supported the decision.
“It just seems fair,”. “As the numbers show, the number of tennis players and pickleball players are almost equal at this point. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the country.”(Michael Lipman)
Concerns Over Tennis Court Access and Noise
Some tennis players opposed the expansion. Resident Teresa Cheng said,
“Lately it has been very difficult to book tennis courts and I worry that converting more tennis courts into pickleball courts would only exacerbate the situation.”
To manage high demand, the council will explore raising reservation fees for non-residents and adding per-player fees. It currently costs $10 per hour for residents and $14 for non-residents to reserve a pickleball court.
“In general, we’re charging less than any other facility, and that’s why we are getting a lot of people that are non-residents attending,”
said Mayor Sharona Nazarian.
New Pickleball Options Nearby
A new pickleball center, PIKL Los Angeles, opened in the Miracle Mile area on July 20, offering eight courts for $60 to $80 per hour.
Beverly Hills will also look into using quieter pickleball paddles and working with the community for future feedback.
News in Brief: Beverly Hills Pickleball Pilot Program
Beverly Hills finalized its pickleball program, expanding courts at La Cienega Tennis Center to 12 and keeping four at Roxbury Park. A noise study prompted court adjustments. With growing demand and revenue, the city will explore fee changes and noise solutions while balancing tennis and pickleball access.