A system to provide the ease and convenience of planning tennis or pickleball games at select city courts is now at your fingertips. For years, players have asked Rec and Park to implement a modest reservation fee to prevent unused bookings and ensure fair access. In response, we are proposing a $5 per hour fee for reservations at 28 locations. Forty-five neighborhood spots, or 57 percent of city courts, will offer free walk-up play with no reservation required.
Historical Court Access: Rec and Park oversees 66 neighborhood tennis and pickleball locations in San Francisco, offering single and multi-court sites. Traditionally, these courts operated on a first-come, first-served basis. Players would arrive and play if courts were available or wait their turn if occupied. However, increased demand has led to conflicts at our busiest courts and calls for easy, low-cost reservations.
PROPOSED COURT RESERVATION FEE
How did the idea of court reservation fees start?
In 2019, the Golden Gate Park Tennis Center closed for a full renovation for a couple of years. It had been the only location with reservable courts for tennis and pickleball. The community requested the implementation of a court reservation system to allow players to plan ahead. Spotery was introduced by Rec and Park, initially covering 21 courts and expanding to 67 due to strong community backing. A 2020 survey showed 80% support for the system’s continuation or expansion.
Why can’t Rec and Park keep using Spotery?
We’re working to make sure people make reservations they actually plan to use so that our courts are used efficiently, and everyone gets a chance to play. Spotery had challenges addressing this issue, including:
- Unused courts – An increased number of players made reservations without fulfilling them, leaving multiple courts empty despite being booked. Spotery was unable to provide a real-time check-in system that would have helped us to identify users who routinely failed to show up to the courts they reserved.
- The proliferation of multiple accounts – The rule at Spotery is one account per email address to keep things fair. However, this led some users to exploit the system by creating multiple email addresses. This loophole caused a surge in court booking by unlicensed professionals and people trying to reserve multiple options for themselves.
Because of these challenges, Rec and Park worked to find a more suitable reservation system. In April 2024, Rec and Park started using a new reservation system called Rec.
- Rec has a cleaner interface and better search functions.
- Rec prevents users from creating multiple accounts by tying an account to a cell phone number.
- Rec has a daily calendar for each court, so it is easier to find open play times.
How do I get a Rec Account?
Visit rec.us/sfrecpark and select the “sign up” button to begin. Or visit How To Guide.
So why do you need to charge a $5 fee then?
The $5 per hour fee ensures easy access to tennis and pickleball courts while deterring unnecessary reservations, thus avoiding conflicts and supporting the new reservation system’s costs.
Which courts will be impacted by this fee?
Select reservable tennis and pickleball courts.
How did Rec and Park decide the fee amount?
The fee amount was determined after discussions with stakeholders. After comparing it to other city systems throughout California, San Francisco was the only city that offered free reservations on the lower end of the fee range in the recreational sports community. (i.e. Goldman Tennis Center reservation is $5 per hour for SF resident seniors on weekdays and $18 per hour for non-residents on weekends.) Note:
If I cancel my reservation, will I be refunded?
The reservation system will encourage players to cancel reservations in advance (varying from 24 hours in the winter to 48 hours in the summer) in order to get credit for approximately 50% towards their next reservation.
What if I have a reservation and it rains or the court is wet?
- If it is a clear rainout day, everyone will automatically receive a full credit.
- If the courts are too wet to play, users can request to cancel at the last minute, and they will get a credit for similar cancellations.
What is the list of courts that are going to be reservable?
- Alice Marble
- Balboa
- Buena Vista*
- Crocker Amazon
- Dolores*
- DuPont
- Fulton
- Glen Canyon Park*
- Hamilton
- Helen Wills
- JP Murphy
- Jackson
- Joe DiMaggio
- Lafayette
- McLaren
- Minnie & Lovie Ward
- Miraloma
- Moscone
- Mountain Lake
- Parkside
- Potrero Hill
- Presidio Wall
- Richmond
- Rossi*
- St. Mary’s
- Stern Grove
- Sunset
- Upper Noe
*these locations will have both walk-up courts and reservable courts
FINANCIAL IMPACT
What will all the collected fees be used for?
The fees will assist Rec and Park in covering the costs of administering the reservation system. A portion of the fee will be set aside to replace court nets and support court improvements.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Since 2020, we have engaged with t players at various community meetings about adding a modest fee for court reservations. Over the years, we have also received comments from users asking Rec and Park to implement this modest fee to stop players from reserving courts they do not intend to use or find methods to encourage players to cancel reservations. Rates considered ranged from $5 per hour to $10 per hour. We settled on $5 per hour.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Who is reviewing this proposal? When would it go into effect?
The San Francisco Recreation and Park Commissioners voted on May 16 to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve the proposal. The proposal will go before the Board of Supervisors for final approval during the June/July budget process.
MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS
Will this Rec app be tracking users?
The Rec app will allow Rec and Park to understand better users’ peak playing and reservation times so we can adjust use and demand.
