Montecito’s Manning Park is getting new tennis and pickleball courts.
Crews are working on the project, and it is expected to be completed by the end of November.
“We’re happy to provide another court for the continued resurgence of tennis playing and the insatiable thirst for more pickleball courts,” said Jeff Lindgren, parks superintendent for Santa Barbara County.
Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America, and tennis courts around town are frequently taken over by pickleball players.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved the courts, which cost about $565,000, at its June 3 meeting.
Crews on Wednesday were constructing the courts, which has not been easy. The previous court closed in 2023, after the playing surface experienced severe cracking. The new court will be constructed with a steel-cabled, post-tensioned foundation to prevent future cracking. The courts will be striped for two pickleball courts.
Lindgren said that before the tennis court, which closed in 2023, there was a swimming pool at the site. It was filled with concrete and asphalt, and the court was placed on top of it.
Crews also worked to save two trees.
“Some fancy engineering and construction techniques were necessary to protect two giant oak trees, one at each end of the court,” Lindgren said.
New tennis courts are headed to Manning Park in Montecito. They are expected to be completed by the end of November. Credit: Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photo
Normally, he said, crews would grade, excavate and remove the trees, but “we went to some great lengths to protect the roots and build the courts on caissons, stilts.”
“It is a little bit elevated, and there’s room for the roots to co-exist with the courts,” Lindgren said.
The tennis court surfacing will be colored acrylic in accordance with the American Tennis Association.
Manning Park, off San Ysidro Road, is one of the area’s jewels and features picnic areas and a historic carriage house, and part of the park was a historic estate.
“The new courts will be great for the community,” Santa Barbara County First District Supervisor Roy Lee said. “People will be able to play tennis or pickleball, and the park will have more flexibility. I know that pickleball courts are in high demand these days, so this will help.”