The area highlighted in red and purple and red indicate the location of the courts.
Since the debut of its construction in 1997, Mill Valley Parks & Recreation and the Mill Valley Community Center have been a juggernaut for decades. The Community Center is among the busiest venues in the Bay Area, used for events, meetings, classes, workshops, seminars, dance, art, exercise, swimming and much more.
But Parks and Rec don’t rest on their laurels – it’s full steam ahead. As you may have heard, in September, the City Council unanimously backed an array of exciting new measures, from a Boyle Park redesign, clarified rules for Depot Plaza, made the case for vibrancy and much more. That included Council support for a pair of Sand Volleyball Courts adjacent to Bayfront Field, a massive step forward for a project that has been in the works for several years. Community and City support has remained consistent, though COVID-19 delayed the original project timeline. The City is motivated to complete this project to provide another recreation opportunity for the community. DONATE HERE OR USE THE QR CODE AT RIGHT.
Sand Volleyball is one of the fastest-growing sports in America, fun for players of all ages. Volleyball supporters, the City of Mill Valley and the Friends of Parks & Recreation are partnering to build two Sand Volleyball courts at Bayfront Park. The courts would be located north of Bayfront Field, near the bike path roundabout. Work is scheduled to start and be completed in 2025.
The City will build the courts and has budgeted $350K for the project, seeking to build two sand courts for both public and program (kids’ programs, school leagues, adult leagues, private coaching etc.) use.
The City, through a state grant, is funding $175K. Mill Valley Friends of Parks & Recreation will contribute $25K. Organizers seek to get $50k from the volleyball community and plan to raise about $100,000 from a dozen community minded Mill Valley families,” organizers say. “We appreciate you being one of the community minded individuals that make Mill Valley such a wonderful place to live in!” The fencing to support the creation for this new exciting addition to the town will require significant funding.
Recreation officials indicated that volleyball courts have been requested by residents for years. Beach volleyball has more than 5.5 million players in the United States, up from 3.2 million in 2006, according to Mark Neumann, a city official. In Mill Valley, hundreds of youths play the sport in clubs and programs. “We have had no negative feedback and an overwhelmingly positive response from the community,” says Parks & Recreation Commissioner Tara Huffman.
Location of the proposed sand volleyball courts near Bayfront, framed in red.
The county has four courts at the College of Marin, two at Piper Park in Larkspur, one at Dunphy Park in Sausalito and one at San Clemente Park in Corte Madera. A new volleyball court was the first recommendation made in the 2004 Bayfront Park master plan. The plan noted that the location and specifics needed to be researched by staff. The proposed project has been in the queue for a while. In 2022, the city’s recreation office was awarded a state Department of Parks and Recreation grant of $177,952 to plan and construct the courts. Staff said the local volleyball community pledged to raise the remaining $162,500 to install the courts.
The city’s courts would be located in the northwest corner of Bayfront Park. A 10-foot-tall fence would surround the court on three sides and connect to the fence at Bayfront Field. The area was picked because it wouldn’t cause traffic-flow hazards to the multiuse path and would preserve the passive use areas around it. It is unlikely a field or other recreational facility would fit there, said Neumann.
City staff estimate the annual revenue for the new courts could be between $5,000 and $10,000. Revenue from sand courts fluctuates. Larkspur at one point received $24,000 in volleyball court revenue and received $8,000 last year, according to a city staff report. Corte Madera’s sand courts generated no revenue last year. Staff recommended hourly fees of $20 per court for nonprofits, $28 for Mill Valley residents, $37 for nonresidents and $42 for commercial users.
The city is aiming to put the project out to bid in March. Construction could begin in the spring, and the courts could be done by summer 2025.
In the interim, volleyball supporters, with support from the Mill Valley Friends of Parks & Recreation, will seek to raise as much as $350,000, . The organization previously donated $50k in 2018 for this project.
At the City Council’s Sept. 16th hearing, the panel approved the Boyle Park project, the volleyball courts, an Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance Modifying Chapter 8.37 of the Mill Valley Municipal Code Regarding the Downtown Plaza. The second reading of that ordinance will come back to the council in two weeks.