Pickleballers and tennis players argue over court conversion in Highland Park

Pickleballers and tennis players packed a community meeting Wednesday night to argue over the city's plan to convert highly-contested courts in the Highland Park neighborhood.

With some players getting to the neighborhood's Herman Park, residents who opposed the conversion believe that the competition to claim one of the 11 courts to play tennis will be exacerbated if the city's proposal passes. 

The city's contentious plan aims to convert a single tennis court into four pickleball courts has met ardent opposition through a petition which more than 1800 people have signed, according to person who submitted it, Cynthia Su.

"I can't tell you the number of times I've gone there and been turned away because there's not a single court," Su said.

The city said it's targeting Hermon Park because other facilities in Los Angeles have dozens of pickleball courts but the metro region has only two. 

"Usually, I have to drive 30 minutes or more to go find one," resident Brian Tran said. "There's a few in the general area."

Pickleballers said they're locals and taxpayers too while fighting for a place to play. 

The city's Department of Recreation and Parks said that, ideally, they would build dedicated courts for each sport, but that takes time and money. 

"We're asking communities for both sides to be patient with us and to be understanding," senior director Juan Aynat said. "We're trying to identify spaces for everybody."