Beverly Hills : Lawn Bowling Court Closing

As a cost-saving measure, the city plans to take one of three lawn bowling courts at Roxbury Park out of service.

The highly manicured grass courts, used by the Beverly Hills Lawn Bowling and Croquet clubs, cost about $30,000 a year to maintain, city Recreation Supt. Steve Miller said.

“We don’t have the staff” to keep up all three courts, Miller said. Roxbury Park once had five full-time groundskeepers but the staff has been reduced to two, mainly through attrition. Groundskeepers are not being replaced because of the recession, he said.

The Recreation and Parks Commission will look at alternative uses for the retired green, such as volleyball or badminton or a passive activity that requires normal turf maintenance, Miller said.

The commission will review the courts’ maintenance in a year and will also look at how well the clubs are doing in their efforts to increase membership, Miller said.

The commission will have the option of bringing back the third green, scaling back to one green or increasing user fees for club members, Miller said.

The lawn bowling club has about 52 members, including 12 Beverly Hills residents, and the croquet club has 22 members, including four city residents. The clubs pay about $3,000 annually in greens fees, Miller said.