President Donald Trump’s administration ignored legal and environmental concerns as it rushed to secretly reach a deal to lease public parkland to a venture capitalist and sports investor.
Documents obtained by a public-records request show the federal government pushed through a plan for a private long-term lease for parts of Rock Creek Park, a 1,750-acre national park in northwest Washington, D.C., in an unusually fast process that limited bidders, The Washington Post reported.
In mid-December, the National Park Services issued a public request for proposals to lease and refurbish the aging Rock Creek Tennis Center, which hosts the annual Washington DC Open tennis tournament.
Potential operators had until Jan. 20 to submit their bids, and the agency said it hoped to have their bids in place by March 1, according to the Post.
But more than five months later, Park Service officials have yet to announce the winner or a deal.
Instead, a public records request by the National Parks Conservation Association revealed that members of the Trump administration had already been working since at least fall 2025 to develop a lease plan with investor Mark Ein, who has chaired the DC Open tournament since 2019, the Post reported.
The lease, which has not been finalized, would cover not just the tennis center, but also several nearby fields and parking areas, limiting public enjoyment of the park and encroaching on a habitat for threatened-and-endangered species, according to the Post.
As recently as last summer, federal officials were working on a deal to turn the tennis center over to city control. At the same time, Ein was circulating a proposal to overhaul the facility.
In July 2025, the National Park Service’s then comptroller suddenly told officials to “pause further action” on a possible transfer to the city, and by September, officials were weighing several options for a private lease.
In September, an unnamed Park Service official criticized the department for being too focused on the DC Open’s expansion requests.
“Our mission is to protest the park’s natural and cultural resources,” the official wrote. “Why is not primacy given to our mission instead of tournament requests?”
In an email from October, an official with the Department of the Interior wrote that the lease should include the tennis center plus the park’s north and south fields, nearby picnic groves, parking areas, and internal roads.
Park Service officials responded that the larger area included public recreation spots and a habitat for the federally protected Hay’s spring amphipod found in springs near the tennis center.
The plan risked interfering with park protection, visitor enjoyment, and park administration, leaving the lease vulnerable to legal challenges, one official warned in an email exchange.
She was told that Park Service leadership had been made aware of those issues “multiple times” but nevertheless “decided to go with the larger footprint.”
Others warned that the lease could lead to redevelopment that would shift the park away from recreational use toward more commercial operations.
A spokesperson for the Interior Department told the Post that the lease was “handled appropriately” and “followed all laws and regulations.”
“The Trump administration is working to transform a rusting, decaying, not fit for purpose facility, that was in danger of losing its tournament, into a world class asset to be enjoyed by the community,” the spokesperson said, dismissing any criticism as “gossip.”
The Daily Beast has also reached out for comment.
Reached by the Post, a spokesperson for Ein, who has not publicly commented on the project, declined to comment.
