Playing tennis, pickleball at some San Francisco courts will soon come with a fee

Tennis and pickleball players will soon have to start paying to play at some of San Francisco’s most popular public courts.

According to the city’s Recreation and Parks department, the new fees for tennis, pickleball and golf reservations will help head off cuts to staff and programing because of what had been an anticipated $800 million city budget shortfall.

The booking fee will not be imposed on all city-owned courts. It will be collected at the 28 courts that currently have online booking available.

A Recreation and Parks spokesperson said the new fees to book some of the busier courts will go into effect 30 days after Mayor Daniel Lurie signs the new legislation, which should take effect some time in September.

In addition to the booking fees to play, the board of supervisors also approved the Recreation and Parks department’s proposal to charge $3 an hour to park inside Golden Gate Park between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The parking fees will take longer to implement because the city needs to install payment kiosks and other infrastructure. The plan is to start charging for parking in January 2027.

Source: NBC Bay Area