South Pas approves lease for Arroyo Seco Racquet Club

A revamped lease between the city and the current operator of the Arroyo Seco Racquet Club was approved by the South Pasadena City Council Wednesday.

Officials rejected a previous lease for the city-owned center with iTennis because some members of the council wanted reassurance that improvements would be made and that rent would be renegotiated in 10 years.

John Letts, whose been running the center on a month-to-month basis since June, will pay South Pasadena $7,000 a month with $3,260 of it going into a rent credit account under a new 10-year lease.

The funds can be used to cover future rent payments after iTennis completes repairs. In addition the rent will be renegotiated if operators want to stay another 10 years.

Interim City Manager Serigio Gonzalez said South Pasadena used to receive $600 a month from the tennis courts. Now it will see $7,000 a month.

In the past, South Pasadena awarded a single contract for operation of the tennis center and the municipal golf course, Gonzalez said. When the agreement ended in June, the city decided to break up deals for the two facilities in order to generate more revenue.

Donovan Bros. Inc., based out of Chino Hills, is running the city golf course on a temporary basis. The city is studying the environmental impacts of extending the driving range, a change Donovan Bros. believes is necessary to attract more golfers.

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South Pas waits on tennis deal

-- Adolfo Flores, Times Community News

Twitter: @AdolfoFlores3