Half Moon Bay’s Coastside Pickleball Reopens Courts, Funds Upgrades, Plans 2026 Tournament

Coastside Pickleball reestablished productive relationships with the Cabrillo Unified School District and the Boys & Girls Club of the Coastside, and organizers removed locks on the local Cunha courts last December so they are now open to the public any time school is not in session. Organizers framed the reopening as conditional - "In exchange, we promised to upgrade the courts" - and tied immediate work to community fundraising.

The most westerly Cunha court once was accessible 24/7 by a path between the Boys and Girls Club of the Coastside Event Center and Bike Works, but it "was closed during Covid and never reopened to the public," according to organizers. That multi-year closure followed years of unsuccessful advocacy by numerous pickleball players, including former Cabrillo Unified School District employees, a teacher and a school board member.

A turning point came when "Last April, Dave Houston and I took it upon ourselves to re-engage with CUSD and BGCC to reignite discussion." Organizers say progress accelerated after the Boys & Girls Club hired a new director, Mark Newton, and Cabrillo Unified installed a new superintendent, Dr. Ramon Ramirez, both described as more receptive to reopening and upgrades.

Work already paid for includes a professional court cleaning costing $1,320, "done and paid for with donations from the PB community." Organizers also have secured new professional windscreens costing $7,400 - described as similar to the windscreens being installed at Stanford’s new professional tennis facility - and report those funds came "through, mainly, $50-$100 donations from the PB community, and through the $60 admission fee to participate in the March 8th, 2026 tournament."

Short-term scheduling ties the next installations to the local tennis calendar: damaged and missing windscreens will be replaced before tennis season starts in March, and after tennis season is over Court #1 "will be repainted and resurfaced … so it will be transformed into four new PB courts." Planned physical work for the site includes splitting Court #1, adding benches, installing new pickleball nets and paddle racks, doing vinyl court resurfacing, installing a new tennis net and replacing in-ground posts meant for volleyball. Organizers estimate "This will cost about $27,000."

Fundraising so far has leaned on small community donations and the planned tournament set for March 8, 2026, which carries a $60 admission fee for participants. Organizers have offered a tax-deductible path for larger donors: "This can be offset if people would like to make a tax deductible donation to BGCC with notification that the funds will be used to pay for this project."

If the $27,000 estimate is met and the post-season resurfacing proceeds as planned, Court #1 will expand the coastside playing footprint from a single split court into four dedicated pickleball courts, increasing capacity for weekend play and future events. Organizers say the combined reopening, upgrades and the March tournament represent a community-led push to restore long-closed Half Moon Bay facilities and lock in more reliable public access.