As it dawdles with its failed zoo and BReW projects, why not listen to this Elk Grove citizen?

Two recent setbacks are among the long list of failures of Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and her City Council.  

The collapse of the $300 million Sacramento Zoo relocation project is well-documented. Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen's arrogance and hubris led to its collapse. 

Singh-Allen thought that she could shepherd the project through the force of her personality, charisma, and reputed regional partnerships. As for the other party in the colossal collapse, the Sacramento Zoological Society, which overestimated its ability to generate $50 million in cold, hard cash toward construction. 

However, another failure, though not as well-known, is Elk Grove Economic Development Director Darrell Doan's ill-advised and untimely BReW program. Let's examine Doan's failed scheme.

Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and her city council approved Doan's request for a $200,000 allocation for the BReW program in fiscal year 2024. The program offered reimbursements of up to 50 percent of eligible project costs (a maximum of $50,000 per business) to attract breweries, restaurants, and wineries to the city.

 

Doan's BReW program launched in August 2023 and was meant to attract breweries, among other businesses. Instead, over the last three years, four breweries have closed, and none have opened.

 

Coatza Brewing Co. closed its taproom on March 25, 2025, less than two years after opening; Dreaming Dog Brewery ceased operations in February 2022; Tilted Mash Brewing announced its August 25, 2024 closure; and Hungry Pecker Brewery, which began in October 2020, and replaced by Coataza, folded in early 2023.

Meanwhile, nationally, the craft beer sector saw more closures than openings in 2024, a first since 2005. This untimeliness is indicative that Elk Grove's incentive arrived well after the industry's boom had peaked.

Industry experts note that microbreweries' heyday was between 2011 and 2016, when brewery counts doubled from roughly 2,000 to over 5,200. With its 2023 launch, Doan effectively missed that window of robust growth by seven years. It makes you wonder what he's been doing all these years. 

The only sliver of good news is that there could have been one more zeros following the "2" in the BReW program. Instead of $200,000, it could have been $2,000,000 - cold comfort for taxpayers' interest. 

Why not listen to citizens? 

While the city continues to be behind schedule, there is one relatively cheap idea they could seize on. Unfortunately, a government watchdog suggested this idea, which means it has no chance of being endorsed by the mayor. 

The idea came from Lynn Wheat, a noted city council and good governance watchdog. While her comments focused on Project Elevate, which could be brewing [pun intended] as another city council failure, Ms. Wheat suggested the site could be used for recreational activities, including the increasingly popular pickleball (see video below). 

Given the city now has about 100 spare acres it could use, why not dedicate a small portion of that parcel? 

Consider the following about pickleball.

• Growth in the last 10 years: U.S. pickleball participation climbed from an estimated 1.5 million players in 2014 to 19.8 million in 2024, representing a 45.8 percent year-over-year increase from 2023 and a 311 percent growth over the past three years alone Pickleheads.
• Fastest-growing sport status: Pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in America for four consecutive years through 2024, according to the USA Pickleball Annual Growth Report: USA Pickleball.
• Forecasted future growth: The global pickleball market is projected to expand from USD 2.2 billion in 2024 to USD 9.1 billion by 2034, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.3 percent: Market.us.
• Economic impact of tournaments: Youth and amateur sports tourism—including pickleball tournaments—has generated over $9 billion in spending since 2017 by attracting participants, families, and officials to host cities: Halff.
• Demographics and spending power: Sixty percent of pickleball players are aged 55 or older, and more than 33.7 percent are 65 or older; this older cohort typically has higher disposable income and is more willing to travel for events: Lee Health.
• Participation rates among older Americans: Since August 2022, players aged 35–44 increased by 86 percent, while casual players (those playing at least once per year) grew by 32 percent, indicating broadening appeal beyond seniors
• Total U.S. player base: As of May 2025, over 13 million Americans actively play pickleball at least monthly, underscoring the sport’s broad penetration AP News.
• Additional growth indicators: Equipment sales have surged in parallel, with the global pickleball equipment market valued at $66.2 billion in 2023 and forecast to grow to $165.6 billion by 2033 (CAGR 9.6 percent) linkedin.com.

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As for cost, let's say the city dedicates three acres to pickleball. On three acres, there could be about 72 courts, each costing about $45,000 on the high side, for a total cost of about $3.2 million. 

This figure does not include the cost or acreage needed for parking or environmental studies. For the sake of argument, let's say this doubles the cost per court to $90,000. 

Given that the city was about to issue about $114 million in 30-year bonds and spend another $80 million from general funds for the zoo, a ~ $7 million pickleball facility is relatively small, especially if the city partners with the Cosumnes Community Services District. 

Or, better yet, donate a parcel to the CCSD and allow them to develop it. After all, that is in their wheelhouse.  

Undoubtedly, pickleball is having its moment, and by all projections, its prospects are rosy. What happens when the pickleball bloom wilts?

People of a certain age will recall that during the 1970s, tennis shed its country club image and surged into the American mainstream, with public courts proliferating. Since then, tennis' popularity has waned, and while it still has its followers and players, its best days are probably in the rearview mirror. 

Should that day come, a three-acre pickleball court can easily be repurposed. The initial investment will have been paid after years of citizen usage.

Is it asking too much for Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and her city councilmen to put aside their self-aggrandizing schemes and listen to constituents for a change? Pickleball courts are but one suggestion, so whatever becomes of that parcel, for once, will the Mayor listen sincerely to taxpayers? 

At a minimum, this time around, don't take Mr. Doan's advice. As Doan has shown with his Slow and Low, BReW, and other debacles, everything he seemingly touches sinks like a brick in water.   

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