pages: RecreationandParkCommission/2021-03-11.pdf, 20
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RecreationandParkCommission | 2021-03-11 | 20 | From: Neal Uppal [mailto:neal.uppal@gmail.com) Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2021 4:56 PM To: ARPD <ARPD@alamedaca.gov> To the leaders of ARPD and fellow residents of Alameda: I am writing to express my dismay at the potential plans to sacrifice a tennis court at Washington Park for pickleball. It's great that pickleball is growing but tennis is too. Can we find a way to keep players of both sports happy without "robbing one to pay the other"? Consider this figure: 22% growth in just one year. That is a stunning figure. Is this another figure attesting to pickeball's growing popularity? No, that figure is in fact the stunning growth that tennis has experienced over the past year. The magnitude of that number is even more impactful when you consider the size of the base it was growing from. 21.64M more Americans picked up a racket in 2020. As a result, tennis had the highest growth rate of any established sport in the country. This growth in tennis popularity is something to celebrate too and something the USTA is seeking to build on. I have seen this growth first-hand over the past 10 months. I have played tennis on an Alameda public court at least once per week since the courts re-opened in May 2020. Tennis has been my only physical and mental reprieve in an otherwise dismal year we'd all like to forget. In the early weeks after re-opening, it was pretty easy to get a court. Now, wait times have grown considerably at Washington Park, Franklin Park and Krusi Park. I've been playing tennis since I was 6 years old and I am excited to see the sport grow. The last thing we need to do is choke off this growth by reducing capacity. This is a time to be investing in tennis to grow its ranks and perhaps inspire the next Serena Williams. Losing 1 court might seem trivial but that is 16.6% of capacity at our largest and most popular public tennis site. In addition to a growing sport, tennis is a wonderfully diverse sport. I have seen Alameda residents of all ages, races and genders enjoying it over the past several months. I was unable to find easily comparable demographic data for tennis and pickleball from the same source, but I would implore the committee to consider pursuing a study to understand which of our communities will be harmed by this decision before taking any action. Do we have a firm grasp on the number and demographics of Alameda residents who play tennis and pickeball? As far as the space itself, have we fully examined all other options for a pickleball court? Are there existing open park spaces that could be converted to pickleball that would have a less drastic impact on another sport's capacity? I regret that I cannot join today's community discussion since I will be busy putting my two young children (and future Alameda tennis players) to bed. Let me assure you that my absence is not because of lack of caring about this topic - I want to see tennis continue to flourish in Alameda, right alongside pickleball. We need to be creative to find a way to make both possible. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Neal Uppal Alameda homeowner | RecreationandParkCommission/2021-03-11.pdf |