Is that any different from paying +$240/year in your property taxes? My small town in canada has those amenities as well, sans HOA. All municipal, and managed by the town's parks department.
The difference is that you only need the local neighborhood to agree that it wants a well maintained park, not the city, which may have other priorities.
Is the city going to build a swimming pool and a set of tennis courts that can be walked to in every neighborhood or are they going to build one or two large ones in a central location that almost everyone will need to drive to? Also not everyone wants a pool and tennis courts so they can choose a neighborhood without them. Some neighborhoods where I used to live had soccer pitches instead of tennis court because that's what was popular with the people who lived there. It was much easier for the neighborhood to be responsive to what the people in the neighborhood wanted than it would have been to convince someone at city hall to build less tennis courts at the municipal park complex and build more soccer fields, which once again, would only be in walking distance of a small number of city residents. Letting residents decide for themselves what amenities they want in their neighborhoods instead of begging for permission from bureaucrats meant they were able to get what best suited that neighborhood and in a timely manner.
>>Is the city going to build a swimming pool and a set of tennis courts that can be walked to in every neighborhood or are they going to build one or two large ones in a central location that almost everyone will need to drive to? Also not everyone wants a pool and tennis courts so they can choose a neighborhood without them.
This is one of the reasons I always prefer no HOA's and when possible in Unincorporated land as I want none of those things to be provided by the city.
years ago when i was looking for an apartment I remember the leasing agents showing how they had a pool, or community center, or gym, etc etc etc. My response was always "will you discount the rent if I agree to never use any of these things I have no interest in" Of course the answer was always no, so I found an apartment that has no pool, no gym, no anything just the apartment, there was not even a Rental Office on the property. It was quite, and about 20-30% cheaper than the "full featured" units with all the amenities I would never use nor have the time to use.