The Bandeja summer 2024 issue

feature
padium
Pinpointing
padel nirvana
On the road - Paul Lloyd
38
What makes a great padel club? It’s a question with a lot of answers
- and to nail them down Soul Padel went on a road trip visiting UK
venues ahead of opening its own. The Bandeja reports.
With facilities popping up quicker than
daffodils in spring, ensuring you have
all the right elements to be a success
is essential.
So what better way to find out than
go to those that have already trodden
this path, which is exactly what Mark
Hewlett, founder of Soul Padel, and his
business partner Paul Lloyd, did.
They chalked up more than 1,400
miles, visiting eight venues in pursuit
of perfection, calling in to Bristol’s
Rocket Padel and Surge Padel, plus
Surge Padel in Harrogate. There was
a double date in the north-east
going to the newly opened True
Padel in Durham and Middlesbrough
Padel Club (one of the UK’s longest
running clubs). The final destinations
were Chiswick’s Rocks Lane, Club de
Padel in Manchester and Alderley
Park in Cheshire.
Mark shares why he and Paul decided
to embark on such an extensive
research mission, what he has learned
about the padel scene in the UK.
What gave you the idea to
visit other venues?
We wanted to make friends in the
padel world and learn from those that
have travelled the path we are taking.
What did you want to learn?
Firstly, how to play padel better! And
ultimately what is the ‘secret sauce’
that makes a great venue.
Mark Hewlett
What did you learn?
The venue has to be about much
more than playing padel. Successful
clubs are also places where people
want to be. Meeting friends, playing
padel and making new connections.
Competitive socialising is what we are
calling it.
What do these venues do well?
• The quality of the courts really
matters. Players are looking for
consistency of conditions to help
improve their games.
• Access to good quality coaching
is vital to enhance development
and encourage new players to take
up the sport.
• A welcoming and friendly
atmosphere is a must.
• A good mix of events, competitions,
leagues and corporate hosting
all make for a great club
environment too.
Who did you meet on
your travels?
At Rock’s Lane we met club owner
Chris Warren and longtime friend
and iPadel guru Ian Colligon.
At Middlesborough Padel Centre
we met owner and padel
pioneer Nigel Garton alongside his
son Theo, ranked in the top eight
GB men. We also had the pleasure
of hitting with Libby Fletcher, coach
of the GB ladies padel team. At
Surge Padel we met owner Stuart
Perrin and got resoundingly
beaten by him and his operations
manager 6-0 6-0 6-0!
Did you play padel at
each venue?
Almost. We wanted to get a
real customer experience -
experiencing playing indoors vs
outdoors, different lighting systems,
alternate turf colours, the quality
and price of rental gear, the
showers and changing facilities.
Which brands had they partnered
with and why? What was the proshop
like? Could we park easily and
find the venue quickly - basically
we looked at absolutely everything.
Soul Padel has partnered
with Decathlon to open two
courts each at Decathlon
Stockport and Glasgow for the
summer. Book via its website
www.soulpadel.co.uk
The Padel & Pickleball Club Builder is a
new-launch B2B supplier directory for
organisations and companies supporting
the development of padel and pickleball
clubs and venues.
It is brought to you by the team behind
The Bandeja.
If you are a court manufacturer, court
builder, canopy supplier, manufacturer of
portable buildings, acoustic curtains, or
provide F&B services, planning assistance,
legal support, security solutions, turf, nets,
equipment, rackets and apparel for pro
shops etc get in touch for more information.
emma@thebandeja.com
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of The Bandeja head over
to our web shop
www.thebandeja.com
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