At Westlake Park, the grass field is still natural grass and nobody has a priority booking for Saturday. The tennis courts are the same ones. The small playground and the pale yellow community center at 145 Lake Merced Boulevard look the way they did in June, before a private athletic club proposed changing most of it.
On September 4, the Olympic Club told Daly City it was pulling out of the agreement for the Westlake Park field project. According to the letter as posted by the neighborhood group Save Westlake Park, general manager Tim Muessle wrote that the club was "respectfully withdrawing from the MOU authorized in June of this year between Daly City and the Olympic Club regarding the Westlake Park fields."
The park stays fully public, and the problem behind the deal stays open. The proposal came up because the field needs work and the city has little money for it. Both of those things are still true two months later.
What the Club Was Offering, and What It Wanted Back
The scale of the proposal shows how big a hole is left now. SFGate reported that the club's plan was worth about $10 million. It included synthetic turf in place of the grass, spectator stands, lighting, scoreboards, fencing, a club building, updated tennis courts and new pickleball courts. The club also offered to pay $50,000 a year in rent and cover the water costs.
In return, the club would have had priority for about 30% of the field's bookable hours. That included all day Saturday plus Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Under the proposal, the public would keep recreational access for at least 25 hours a week.
According to SFGate, city officials started talking with the club in 2025. The memorandum of understanding was Item 9 on the June 22, 2026 City Council agenda. At that meeting, two councilmembers named the problem the deal was supposed to solve and the cost that worried them most.
"I grew up in Daly City and that field definitely needs some love." Councilmember Juslyn Manalo, June 22, as reported by SFGate
Manalo also said she wanted groups like the Junior Giants to keep using the park for their programs. Councilmember Pamela DiGiovanni objected to the Saturday priority. SFGate quoted her saying, "The all-day Saturday is kind of like a sticking point for me," and adding that "this [park] is all we have left, and our youth really need a place to be involved, to be outside for activities and especially sports."
The council framed the deal from the start as a trade between field condition and public access. It ended over access. The field's condition is still where it was.
One Summer, From Agenda Item to Council Briefing
The proposal came apart between July and mid-September:
- July 2026. The club held community meetings on the plan.
- August 12. The club canceled the next community meeting and paused its "existing plan." Its news release said, "We believe that pausing to listen and to refine our proposal will result in a stronger, more constructive presentation when we return to the city and the community."
- August 13. About 50 people with signs gathered at the park at the time the meeting had been scheduled. Vice Mayor Teresa G. Proaño spoke there as a private citizen and said she opposed the proposal.
- September 4. The club withdrew from the MOU.
- September 14. Assistant City Manager Nevin briefed the council on the project's history. That history included an earlier exclusive negotiating agreement, the July meetings, the canceled third meeting and the withdrawal.
The August pause read like a plan to come back. The club itself said it wanted to return with a "stronger, more constructive presentation." The September letter withdrew the club from the agreement entirely.
The Budget Line That Remains
With the club gone, the city's own budget is the only money on record for the park. SFGate reported that Daly City's 2026-27 budget lists a Westlake Park master plan as a priority, with $70,000 budgeted in 2025 to develop it.
That allocation covers planning, with no construction money attached. Compared with the roughly $10 million proposal, it covers the design stage of a project the club had offered to pay for in full. The most recent work SFGate cited at the park was the fitness court renovation in 2023.
The wider budget picture is part of why the club's offer got a hearing. SFGate, citing the San Francisco Chronicle, reported that the city's finances have been strained by cuts in state funding and by a lack of major employers that bring in property tax revenue. Before the withdrawal, city spokesperson Leilani Ramos told SFGate that "the city has an obligation to listen when a longstanding community partner presents an opportunity to make a significant investment in Daly City's public assets."
Neighbors brought their own funding ideas. At the August rally, some suggested a tax measure for park upgrades. At the September 14 council meeting, Westlake residents and groups including Save Westlake Park and Faith & Action asked for a revitalization led by the community. They offered volunteer help with fundraising and gardening, and they asked the city to reopen school playgrounds and keep up the park better. None of these ideas has a dollar figure or a date attached yet.
Daly City Has Already Built a Smaller Deal
Westlake doesn't have to guess what a park partnership looks like in Daly City, because one is already underway across town. In January 2026, Sacred Heart Cathedral announced a groundbreaking at Marchbank Park Field under an agreement with the city. The two deals differ in ways that matter to a park's regular users.
| Westlake proposal, Olympic Club | Marchbank, Sacred Heart Cathedral | |
|---|---|---|
| Partner's priority time | About 30% of bookable hours, including all day Saturday and Tue/Wed/Thu evenings | Three hours a day after school, some Saturdays, summer camps |
| Field surface | Synthetic turf replacing natural grass | Synthetic turf with organic fill |
| Lighting | Lighting proposed | Not in current scope; electrical built for possible future lights |
| Building | Club building on park property | Restrooms |
| Public use | At least 25 hours a week of recreational access | Public use and rentals outside shared-use hours |
| Status | Withdrawn September 4, 2026 | Groundbreaking announced for January 27, 2026 |
The two deals split the week differently. At Marchbank, the partner's time falls mostly on weekday afternoons, and the school gets only some Saturdays. The Westlake proposal claimed all of Saturday, which is exactly what DiGiovanni objected to in June. The Marchbank details come from the city's Marchbank Park Field FAQ. Projects like this also take time to finish. In February the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the first interscholastic games might move to Marchbank in fall 2027.
Westlake now has two examples: one partnership the city signed and is carrying out, and one it couldn't close. Whatever comes next at Westlake will be compared against both.
Where the Next Decision Will Surface
Nothing about the field is on a calendar yet. These are the places it is likely to show up:
- The master plan. The $70,000 planning money is the only Westlake-specific spending on record. Any outreach session or survey for the plan is where residents can weigh in on field surface, court layout and the playground.
- Recreation Commission agendas. The commission met on October 27, and its agendas are posted on the city calendar.
- City Council agendas. The September 14 briefing set out the project's history so far. A follow-up item on the council agenda would be the first sign of a new direction.
- Youth league schedules. The Junior Giants have played on this field since at least 2011, and Manalo named them as a group to protect. When the field's future comes back up, league scheduling will be one of the first concrete questions.
Until one of those items shows up, Westlake Park stays as it is: a public grass field, outdoor tennis courts, the 2023 fitness courts, a small playground and a community center on Lake Merced Boulevard.
Perry Kayasone came to real estate from construction and project management, so he reads a field renovation scope the way a builder does: drainage, surfacing, electrical and what it all costs. If you live near Westlake and want to talk through how park plans and public projects play into the area's long-term picture, Perry Kayasone is glad to share what he's watching. Call Perry.
