The Bandeja summer 2024 issue

Padel Social
Club to score
a first?
Rooftop padel is coming to Wandsworth,
London, after the Padel Social Club gained
planning permission to build six covered
courts above Southside Shopping Centre.
sport powerhouses
set to drive padel
expansion
The two-level, 30,000ft2 club, is scheduled
to open at the end of the year and could
be the UK’s first rooftop padel venue if
Powerleague doesn’t achieve it first with
its plans for courts on top of a car park at
Gateshead’s Metrocentre.
The Wandsworth project includes
changing rooms, wellness area, food
and drink kiosks, social spaces (including
co-working spaces overlooking the padel
courts), seating and an outdoor area with
views over Wandsworth.
“We’re delighted to see this project
coming to life and to be able to bring
our all-encompassing padel experience
to Wandsworth”, said Padel Social Club
CEO Kristian Hunter.
Rebecca Ruddle, Centre Director at
Southside Shopping Centre, said: “We’re
confident that this new facility will bring
something new and exciting for our
community and create a vibrant space
that fosters connections whilst introducing
a sport that is becoming increasingly
popular throughout the UK.”
The Padel Social Club has already opened
five outdoor courts in Empress Place, Earls
Court, London, and has plans for an indoor
centre on the banks of the River Thames
at the 02.
bringing padel
home to Durham
To paraphrase the Hollywood
movie Field of Dreams – if you
build it they will come - and the
baseball-themed film could
have been describing the impact
of True Padel, which has seen
massive interest since opening
in January.
The Durham venue is the ‘field
of dreams’ for brothers Alex and
Adam Carr, who quit jobs overseas
to return home and build what is
one of the largest indoor centres
in the UK, with nine indoor courts.
The club, which has quickly
become a padel Mecca in the
North East, has gone into the
former Soccarena football centre
in Belmont Industrial Estate,
New Ferens Park. A key feature
of the venue is roof height – at
its maximum it offers 14m of
clearance, making it one of -
if not the - highest indoor padel
centre in the UK.
Plans
The centre has been a big hit,
attracting players from Durham
County Cricket Club, Newcastle
United FC and Sunderland FC,
a small but significant Spanish
community and students from
the city’s university.
And even with nine courts,
demand for peak times means
booking days in advance, with the
real masterstroke in attracting
people to padel being its ‘mix-in’
events and ‘introduction to padel’
sessions, as Alex explained: “It’s
just been crazy. It’s a massive
relief, but also exciting to see
people walk through the doors
and enjoy the game for the first
time. I think the biggest thing for
us is a lot of the introduction to
padel sessions. They’ve been
really key as we put them on
extremely cheaply over weekends
and through the week. They’re
very, very popular and pretty
much every one gets fully booked.
It’s a good way for people to get
used to the rules, get used to the
court and meet people.
“These sessions lead straight into
our mix-in events, which have
also been extremely successful.
We put three or four on every
week. People turn up on their own
or with a partner and by the end
they have met another 20 or so
players that are a similar level.
Straight away communities are
starting to be built.”
The club has built on this early
enthusiasm by hiring a full-time
coach - Spaniard Suso - and
developing an academy, leagues
and tournaments. Plans are
already afoot to open a second
True Padel venue.
Sporting giants Powerleague and David Lloyd
are both accelerating their efforts to drive padel
forward in the UK.
Five-a-side football specialists
Powerleague announced its
intentions to diversify into padel
last summer with plans for a
rooftop facility in Gateshead.
However, sites in Birmingham
and London have leapt ahead of
Gateshead and are set to be the
company’s first facilities to open,
according to Powerleague head
of padel Freya Tringham.
Work has just got underway at the
Birmingham venue, located in the
Aston area of the city. It will have
three covered courts. Shoreditch
will have four courts.
“We’re hoping to launch in
Manchester (Manchester Nicholls
site) before the end of the year
and I would say at least another
two clubs,” said Freya. “We’ve got
ambitious plans for the next two
years. There’s plenty more in the
planning pipeline that we should
hear back on imminently.”
David Lloyd
It is a similar picture with David
Lloyd, which has ambitions to be
the UK’s largest padel operator with
plans for 33 courts in 14 UK clubs
by the end of the year. This is in
addition to almost 90 courts across
133 clubs in nine other countries, and
further plans for expansion.
expanding
its reach
Rocks Lane is continuing to expand its padel
provision, this time with the addition of four courts
at its centre in Barnes Common, London.
The new courts bring the organisation’s total court
count in the capital to 16 (its Rocks Lane Chiswick
HQ has four covered and eight outdoor, including
a singles). It also has four courts in Cornwall and
plans for four courts at Dyrham Park Golf & Country
Club in Barnet, North London, bringing its total to 24.
The Bandeja understands that Rocks Lane founder
Chris Warren is looking to add another six courts
to the portfolio at a location yet to be revealed.
The operator currently offers
padel in eight UK Clubs - Chigwell,
Bushey, Raynes Park, Bicester,
Cheadle, Harbour Club Chelsea,
as well as new clubs Rugby and
Shawfair, Edinburgh.
David Lloyd spokesperson Liz
Bartlett said: “The aim is to have
about 170 courts across 133 clubs
by the middle of next year. Spain
already had a good share of courts,
but we’re spreading. We’re building
them in other countries, but a big
focus on the UK. We’re expanding
at pace and it’s an area where we
are seriously investing in. Where
it’s possible, where it’s practical,
we’re introducing it.”
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