The Goleta community is passionate about pickleball and will soon have permanent pickleball courts to use at the Goleta Community Center (GCC). The Goleta City Council approved the Goleta Valley Community Center (GVCC) organization’s proposal to convert the existing tennis court at the GCC into four pickleball courts at their March 1, 2022, meeting. The Council came to the decision following several public hearings which included a large volume of public input.   

In addition to resurfacing and renovation of the existing tennis court into four permanent pickleball courts, a fifth court will be striped to accommodate both basketball and temporary pickleball, serving two recreational uses. 

Council initially discussed this item at its January 18, 2022, City Council meeting, but asked staff to return to address concerns in three primary areas: 1) Access for all; 2) Costs to play; and, 3) Noise. These were areas of similar interest to the Parks and Recreation Commission when it reviewed the proposal at its November 18, 2021, special meeting.

Goleta Valley Community Center temporarily converted one of the courts at the GCC to a temporary pickleball court in the fall of 2019. In late spring of 2020, the popularity increased and the one court in high demand was expanded to four additional temporary courts in the existing tennis courts.

It is anticipated that the courts will be converted this spring and available for public use by this summer.

The community is encouraged to also take advantage of the other pickleball courts available in the Goleta area:

• Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park (permanent court, first-come, first-served)
• Evergreen Park (lined for pickleball games, but users can either bring their own portable net or access a portable net stored onsite)
• Kellogg Tennis Courts (recently renovated by the Santa Barbara County Parks Department to include the installation of three tennis and four pickleball courts in place of the previous four tennis courts)

Pictured: Pickleball players Mark Sabens, Jared Ingram, Vince Kosek, and Brandon Gregorio at the Goleta Community Center courts