Game, set, match:
Portland turns to private sector to run tennis center
By Sal Rodriguez | October 16, 2026
“Portland’s nationally-renowned parks system is struggling,” began a news report earlier this year from Oregon Public Broadcasting.
OPB describes many of the practical consequences of deferred maintenance and budget cuts that have accumulated over the years: “Shuttered public bathrooms, cracked and peeling athletic courts, splintered play structures and cancelled youth classes pepper the city.”
The scope of the problem is such that not even voter approval of a property tax increase last year could bail out the parks department.
As a result, the famously progressive city has recognized it needs outside assistance to ensure Portlanders can continue to enjoy parks and recreational areas more broadly.
One major development came just last month, with Portland Parks & Recreation announcing it will transfer operations of the indoor Portland Tennis Center to United States Tennis Association Pacific Northwest, a private nonprofit which knows a thing or two about tennis.
“We simply do not have the resources to address every major maintenance need across Portland’s parks system,” interim parks director Art Pearce said in a statement announcing the deal. “By partnering with a nonprofit organization that shares our commitment to public access, we’re able to keep Portland Tennis Center publicly owned, make long-overdue facility improvements, expand opportunities to play, and preserve resources for parks and recreation services throughout Portland.”
Under the agreement, the nonprofit will invest $2.3 million into renovations of the 53-year-old tennis center, which has been described as having, among other problems, “a notoriously leaky roof and poor lighting.”
“As part of the agreement, USTA also plans to expand tennis access throughout the city by offering complimentary memberships for the first year after the facility reopens,” reports local outlet KOIN 6, which also noted that the nonprofit has committed to ensuring affordable access to the center and even “need-based scholarships and free loaner equipment.”
In addition, the nonprofit will offer impacted city employees first-round interviews for employment under the nonprofit, and the nonprofit will provide programming at some of the city’s outdoor tennis courts.
It appears to be a win-win for all involved. The city, which will retain ownership of the property, gets direct assistance in both maintenance and management, while also projecting to save $779,000 a year. Those who play tennis on Portland courts should experience tangible improvements under the leadership of a nonprofit whose mission centers on tennis. And, thanks to offloading this responsibility, the city parks department can focus on its bigger problem of shoring up maintenance across the parks system.
USTA is no stranger to turning city-owned facilities around; in fact, it has already done so just across the river from Portland in Vancouver, Wash. As The Columbian reported in 2018, the USTA took over operations of [the Vancouver Tennis Center] from the city of Vancouver and since then, the tennis courts have been resurfaced and new lighting has been installed, among other upgrades throughout the facility.”
That center was recently named “Public Facility of the Year” by Racquet Sports Industry magazine, highlighting that the public-private partnership in nearby Vancouver has yielded not only significant capital improvements but a better experience for local tennis players.
“Through this partnership, the Vancouver Tennis Center has become a model for how collaboration can strengthen local play opportunities,” the trade magazine explained, noting that the partnership has yielded “more than 100,000 annual play opportunities, hundreds of scholarships, and new programs that invite players of every age, background and ability to participate.”
Despite this positive track record, there have of course been naysayers. Some decried the proposal because it ceded public management to a private organization, while others denounced it as “union-busting 101,” among other things.
But to the latter point: While it’s true public employees have been impacted, they’ve also got a practical leg-up to continue their work under new management. In addition, the city’s fundamental obligation isn’t to preserve particular employment arrangements. It’s to ensure local residents are getting their money’s worth from City Hall.
As to the former point, one local professor told OPB, “I have a lot of worries and concerns if it’s not being publicly run and there’s not a politician that voters can point to if things go wrong.” But things were already going wrong under public operations. The Portland Tennis Center needs millions of dollars in maintenance precisely because the city has been unable to prioritize its upkeep.
When it comes to accountability, contrary to the professor’s argument, tennis-playing voters couldn’t get the city to prioritize maintenance of the Portland Tennis Center all these years, no matter how much they complained to City Hall. Politicians, elected typically by broad coalitions of voters not necessarily interested in tennis, are a lot harder to oust for mismanaging a relatively small subset of the parks department.
By contrast, if USTA somehow fails, the city can always look for alternatives. That’s one of the advantages of contracting out services to outside operators.
By partnering with a nonprofit operator with relevant knowledge and expertise, the city of Portland is taking a much-needed step toward improved public spaces.
While one wonders whether governments really need to be in the tennis business at all, Portland is taking a practical step in the interests of the public.
Sal Rodriguez is opinion editor for the Southern California News Group and a senior fellow with the Pacific Research Institute. He is the author of “Dynamism or Decay? Getting City Hall Out of the Way,” published by the Pacific Research Institute.