the report<\/a> says.<\/p>\n\u201cNearly a year after the city\u2019s directive, the lessee sent a reply letter falsely asserting the area had been routinely used for parking since 1994 and proposing only to address required permits as part of new lease negotiations,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
The findings of negligence and misconduct are not limited to the nonprofit, however.<\/p>\n
According to city auditors, aides to Mayor Todd Gloria have not enforced a single code violation against the Barnes Tennis Center \u2014 or any city-owned property \u2014 even though a spate of violations have been confirmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cCity representatives stated that the city does not formally investigate or take enforcement action against city lessees as it would for violations on private property,\u201d auditors said. \u201cA notice of violation was never issued, and fines were not imposed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Barnes Tennis Center operates a host of tennis courts, pickleball courts and other sports facilities on 12.5 acres of city-owned property along West Point Loma Boulevard. It received the lease in 1994, and the $600 annual rent has not been raised since.<\/p>\n
The 35-year deal is due to expire June 30, 2029.<\/p>\n
San Diego city auditors said the agreement should be amended both to recognize the new amenities constructed by Youth Tennis San Diego and to make the rent more equal to the money the property generates.<\/p>\n
\u201cNewly revised city policies provide mechanisms to recover a portion of a nonprofit\u2019s gross revenues and evaluate whether the nonprofit\u2019s public benefit is commensurate with the lease subsidy related to newly issued or amended leases,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n
The report from the San Diego City Auditor\u2019s Office is not a formal audit. It is instead the product of an investigation that was undertaken following a call to the city\u2019s fraud hotline.<\/p>\n
But the findings do include three specific recommendations to city officials: Require the tenant to correct its lease violations, create a plan to enforce code violations against all city tenants and establish a market rate for the rent once the Barnes Tennis Center lease is renewed or extended.<\/p>\n
![\"Cheri](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SUT-L-barnes-audit-002.jpg\")
Cheri Turner and Roger Leach play pickleball at the Barnes Tennis Center on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in San Diego. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
The Gloria administration agreed with the proposed fixes and pledged to implement them over the coming months and years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lessee recently submitted an initial proposal for the city\u2019s consideration related to a potential amendment or future lease structure intended to address the compliance issues and uses currently occurring on-site,\u201d the city wrote in its response.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese negotiations are in the preliminary stages, and the city is currently evaluating the proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was no response from Youth Tennis San Diego included in the 53-page report, and Barnes Tennis Center chief executive Ryan Redondo did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
But former San Diego city manager Jack McGrory, who signed the original lease more than 30 years ago on behalf of the public and now serves as president of the charity\u2019s board of directors, said the independent review was flawed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe audit was pretty irresponsible and pretty inaccurate,\u201d he said. \u201cThey did not talk to Youth Tennis San Diego.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGrory denied the report\u2019s finding that the tenant wrongly used part of the leasehold as a parking lot. He said city officials knew the lot had been improved with gravel as a way to control dust after complaints from neighbors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been using that overflow parking since 1996,\u201d he said. \u201cWe consulted with the city engineers and we consulted with the real estate staff. We eliminated the dust issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGrory did concede the charity did not secure\u00a0approvals before proceeding with the construction, however.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did not technically get a permit because we didn\u2019t think we needed to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The investigation does not specifically address the relationship between McGrory\u2019s role as city manager between 1991 and 1997 and his subsequent role with Youth Tennis San Diego.<\/p>\n
But the former city manager defended the long-term lease as practical for both sides because the 12-plus acres were little more than sand when the deal was reached in 1994 \u2014 and the tenant made all the improvements.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what we were doing in those days for nonprofits,\u201d McGrory said. \u201cWe considered nonprofits to basically be partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SUT-L-barnes-audit-001.jpg\")
People practice on the court as a tennis ball sits stuck in the fence at the Barnes Tennis Center on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in San Diego. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Youth Tennis San Diego has collected more than $21 million<\/a> over the five years ending in 2024, federal tax filings show. City auditors said San Diego should be collecting more of that revenue.<\/p>\n\u201cLease amendments appear to be necessary, which could significantly increase revenue to the city,\u201d they wrote. \u201cOur investigation found that the lessee\u2019s revenues have increased roughly 400% between 2020 and 2024, reaching over $7.2 million in 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n
They also noted that the Youth Tennis San Diego chief executive is paid almost $300,000 per year \u2014 more than the entire payroll of the Balboa Tennis Club operating in Balboa Park.<\/p>\n
The Barnes Tennis Center has expanded in recent years, adding pickleball courts and other amenities. The upgrades were funded in part with a $2.5 million advance from the city \u2014 money that was expected to be repaid by the state, auditors said.<\/p>\n
But the city has been reimbursed only $260,000 so far \u2014 and the rest may be in jeopardy because the state grant rules\u00a0required the tenant to obtain all of the needed permits, investigators said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lessee obtained permits to install a solar photovoltaic system and tenant improvements to an existing locker room and restroom,\u201d the report said. \u201cHowever, no grading permits were obtained.\u201d<\/p>\n
The publicly funded renovations contributed to the explosive growth in charity revenue. The study noted the facility hosted the USA Pickleball National Championships in 2025 and 2026, along with other championship tournaments.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs currently configured, the Barnes Tennis Center has been referred to as \u2018the Disneyland of racket sports\u2019 due to the variety of racquet sports and amenities available in one attractive coastal location,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The operator of a beachfront racquet club collected tens of millions of dollars in revenue from tournaments and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448054,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[23,74,76,75,1696],"class_list":["post-448053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-local-news","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-top-stories-sdut"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}