The Bandeja Magazine Issue 1

New Courts Opened
Garon Park, Southend, Essex (Padel4all)
3 canopied, 1 outdoor show court
Withdean Sports Complex, Brighton,
East Sussex (Game4Padel)
1 outdoor court
Ipswich Sports Club (Game4Padel)
1 pop-up court (see page 47)
Surbiton Racket & Fitness, Surrey
2 outdoor courts
Surge Padel, Harrogate, North Yorkshire
6 indoor courts
The Welsh Padel Centre, Cwmbran
2 canopied courts with space for a third
Padel United UK, Chelmsford, Essex
2 outdoor courts
Lowther Gardens, Lytham St Annes,
Lancashire
2 floodlit padel courts
Hurlingham Club
3 courts, two floodlit
Solihull Arden Club, Birmingham
3 outdoor courts
Roehampton Club, London
2 floodlit courts
Coming Soon
Derby (We Are Padel)
11 indoor courts
The Queen’s Club, London
2 floodlit courts
Oxford (MVP Padel)
3 courts
Lockleaze Sports Centre, Bristol
(Padel4all)
4 covered floodlit courts
Dundee (Game4Padel)
1 court
Lethamhill golf course, Glasgow
(Game4Padel)
3 covered courts
Heron Tennis Centre, Newquay
(Game4Padel)
2 courts
Island Padel, Jersey
3 indoor, 2 outdoor floodlit courts
Planning Granted
Ripon Tennis Centre
2 floodlight covered courts
South Essex Golf Club, Brentwood
(Padel United)
3 courts – 2 covered
Grappenhall Village LTC, Oxford
(Game4Padel)
2 covered courts
155 & counting...
Keeping up with new padel clubs and courts opening
around the UK feels, at times, like herding cats; public and
private courts are going up at a rate of knots and more
are being announced weekly.
Official LTA figures give some insight
into this – in September last year
it quoted 114 courts (37 covered,
77 outdoor), which had risen to
155 courts (93 covered, 62 outdoor)
at 70 venues as of March 1st this year.
Since then there have been a
flurry of new facilities opening and
development plans announced
both from ‘established’ big players
(Padel4all, Game4Padel and Padel
United to name just three) and new
names to the UK sector – LeDap’s We
Are Padel plans for the Powerleague
site in Derby (11 covered courts opening
in a matter of weeks) is a major step
forward for the sport here. And it has
plans – which we can only presume
will be comparable – for a site in
Shoreditch, London.
Until Derby’s We are Padel opens, the
impressive and new Surge in Harrogate
remains the largest indoor facility
to date (six courts). It has quickly
built a strong following and has the
powerhouse that is Nicky Horn very
successfully driving engagement of
women in the game (see page 42).
Special mention must also go to The
Welsh Padel Centre in Cwmbran and
its driving force David Cornwell, who
deserves huge credit for his hard work
in developing a brilliant facility that’s
attracting players from a wide area.
It’s also worth mentioning that there
is a growing market for private courts
(ie in your back garden or perhaps
estate) for those lucky enough to have
the space and funds. These courts
aren’t, to our knowledge, included
in any official figures. One court
developer told The Bandeja that they
are doing more installations for private
clients than they are for clubs and
organisations. So for anyone struggling
to get court time it could be worth
making friends in high places...
London bastions of Britishness,
The Hurlingham Club and Queen’s Club,
are both flying the flag for padel by
adding the sport to their facilities.
Hurlingham members have had the use of one
court for seven years but it was getting heavy
use and didn’t allow the club to build a padel
community. In addition, club sports executive
Danny Sitton told The Bandeja that they were
examining sports trends and identified padel’s
huge growth. The club invested in three new
courts (two floodlit) and within weeks has
reported usage on a par with its tennis courts.
Over at Queen’s, two new courts with floodlights
are in progress, a sure sign that the sport has
arrived. Next stop Wimbledon?.
18 thebandeja.com
the UK padel magazine
19