Here is quick summary of some of the issues regarding Rock Creek Tennis Court redevelopment. Council Woman Lewis-George's office confirmed that as of now THERE WILL NOT BE A POO! This is the one part of the plan that DC residents actually like and support!!
1. DC had expected to take control of Carter Barron this year. Instead, the National Park Service will lease the land directly to developer, Mark Ein, preventing the DC government or DC residents from taking part in the process. As of March 1st 2026, the park will be transferred to Mark Ein who will be able to develop the land with limited oversight if they invest twenty five million dollars. The five week time line for this process is highly unusual and raises some questions about the fairness of the process. Typically the comment period and bidding process can take up to a year.
Here is an article from the WaPo which has more details
2. There is not going to be a pool. This idea was included in an initial proposal.However, it died after the DC council rejected a three million dollar request for a feasibility study. The council did budget nine million dollars needed for immediate repairs to the stadium but this money will now be reallocated.
What amenities will be added? Well, according the RFP, the developer must invest twenty-five million dollars, of which around half will be spent on making repairs to the stadium. The remaining fifteen million dollars is not enough to build a pool or a decent community center. The developer's primary focus is on their ROI, not creating a nice park for us. Playgrounds,pools and picnic areas do not generate revenue.
3. The council has not scheduled a community meeting because they are still gathering facts. But we need a meeting sooner rather than later due to the limited time line we have to discuss the proposal. There is much we could discuss, such as the typical planning and bidding process.
4. There is a site meeting December 23rd at noon if you are interested in learning more.
Here is the petition if you want to sign
https://www.change.org/p/stop-rock-creek-park-tennis-sports-complex-development?recruiter=2393795&recruited_by_id=b37ad064-608a-4483-b2eb-87a1e15321de&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=psf_promote_or_share&utm_term=psf&utm_medium=facebook&utm_content=fht-490918014-en-us%3A0