SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma is a city-owned property that was built entirely from private donations in the late 1990s.
Since then, it’s become San Diego’s premier public racket club, attracting national tournaments, and serves as the home of Youth Tennis San Diego.
Suddenly, the Barnes Center is under a microscope, after the city allegedly received an anonymous tip about code violations that happened four years ago.
After the club transformed half of their parking lot into a world class pickleball facility in 2022, they began using the dirt lot adjacent to the courts and made improvements without getting the proper permits.
It was never issued any fines or citations by the city, but now that this lot is under consideration for a potential “affordable housing” complex, the city is scrutinizing everything that happened years ago.
“As Alonzo Horton once said, ‘Anytime someone is San Diego tries to think big, the undertaker shows up.’ That’s what happening here, ok?” says former San Diego City Manager Jack McGrory.
Like hundreds of city/taxpayer owned properties, nonprofits like the Barnes Tennis Center pay a small monthly rent of $50 dollars.
In exchange, they make a huge private investments and create valuable public asset.
But now that the city has created another $100-million-dollar deficit for next year, they are desperate for more money.
“The flat rate for the Barnes Center is $600-dollars a year, which is low for this property. Especially through a 2026 lense and the amount of money they make,” says Trisha Tacke of the Independent Auditors office.
So, after decades of close partnership, the city is questioning everything from the parking lot to the amount of money they pay at Barnes.
The president of Youth Tennis San Diego believes something is fishy. As the former city manager of San Diego, he’s willing to negotiate a new lease agreement with some kind of revenue sharing.
But the overflow parking lot is critical to the operation of the club.
“We intend to renegotiate a new lease. We will make sure that lease complies with council policy, but negotiate a fair lease. Inside that lease, we need to address the overflow parking lot. We need to make it clear, we need to use that,” says McGrory.
The current lease expires in 2029. The city and the club hope to hammer out a new deal well before that date.
While the $600-dollar yearly lease payment may seem small to a lot of people, the massive housing and entertainment area we call Liberty Station only pays a dollar a year for that entire property.
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