i am phil ginsburg the manager of the san francisco recreation and parks department. it is my pleasure to welcome you here. you would think the bryan brothers answer arena were red -- serena were ready to play. this place has a buzz thanks to champions of tennis, golden gate park, our city. this facility is going to undergo a $27 million renovation

thank you to the leadership of phil ginsburg.hank you to the president of the commission for his tireless work on behalf of the city and the recreation and parks department i am just so thrilled so excited, now it is time that we get to work and make this the most incredible, beautiful waterfront anywhere in the city and county of the school. thank you all so much for being here today. [applause] >> that works for me, because i was going to say, we don't just want breed to be alive when this project is done, we want her to still be in office when this project is done. [laughter] >> i would next like to introduce someone who has been such a champion for open space and equity, even before he took office, he is actually a member, was a member of the india basin open space task that worked with us, and the india basin neighborhood association, and the myriad of community groups to help us design and think about this space. his predecessor on the board, who is now the chair of the board of equalization, a former supervisor, malia cone

i am phil ginsburg the manager of the san francisco recreation and parks department. my pleasure to welcome you here. you would think the bryan brothers answer arena were red -- serena were ready to play. this place has a buzz thanks to champions of tennis, golden gate park, our city. this facility is going to undergo a $27 million renovation starting almost today. it will transform this 125-year-old site, yes, we have been playing tennis since the 1890s. they have hosted billie jean king. so many more. this place is called the cradle of champions. one champion who i want to focus on is alice marble. an outspoken advocate for de segregation of american tennis. de segregation of this court came to the first african-american player to compete in the grand slam event in 1950. the tennis community continues to grow and she played here. [applause.] when we opened the doors on the lisa and doug goldman tennis center in late 2020, our department is going to continue to strive to provide more opportunities for active play, to continue to encourage the next generation so that

i am phil ginsburg the manager of the san francisco recreation and parks department. it is my pleasure to welcome you here. you would think the bryan brothers answer arena were red -- serena were ready to play. this place has a bu

i want to thank my friend phil ginsburg and his extraordinary team at recreation and spark for finding us in the collaborators they needed. i want to thank my board members who were expert doing what we needed to do. i want to thank julie our one woman band and i want to thank so many of you who came to our community meetings, gave us your input and your gift. you wrote letters, lent support at the supervisor meetings the policymaking here in san francisco. that is some of how we all got here today. we begin a new chapter. for those who will soon discover that tennis is their passion and those not born who will enjoy this center as the san francisco heart beat of tennis to the 21st century. thank you also much. [applause.] >> so many stories. this is a public tennis facility. it is the spirit that will have a few different things. lou in so many ways you epitmize what public tennis is about. you have taken kids who learned to play on the courts you have taken them across the country to compete across the country. you had to go out and buy them lights because they weren't allowed to pla