If we made new year resolutions, it would be to play more padel but we don’t need to resolve to do that because it’s going to happen anyway as we get swept up in this booming craze along with all other sports fans. As a business that specialises in the construction of padel courts, it is really exciting to hear the LTA’s latest ambition for another 100 public courts to be installed in the UK this year. Participation is booming and the availability of courts just needs to catch up with demand.
There are now just shy of 150 padel courts in Britain, spread across 66 venues, including tennis clubs, as well as leisure centres and padel only operators, while the latest participation data shows there are now 89,000 active players, with monthly participation around 15,000.
In the Netherlands, for example, there are currently 600 courts and a monthly participation player base of 100,000. We have the same appetite to play over here so our figures are really reflective of the number of courts available, which helps to demonstrate the potential that exists for growth.
In recent news, Tennis Wales has announced it is backing the expansion of padel by encouraging more venues to adapt and open up to the sport because the growth of padel should not be seen as being at the expense of tennis. The two can exist side-by-side and even compliment each other. In fact, existing tennis venues that have integrated padel participation into their membership offerings have seen significant growth and financial gains.
“Building padel courts alongside existing tennis courts, creating new, modern facilities, helps in bringing new people into tennis, generating more interest and involvement in the sport as a whole”, says Tom Murray, LTA Head of Padel.
Owing to the size of a padel court, you can fit three into one tennis court, which opens up the opportunity to make a healthy ROI. If you have the available space or a disused court in need of repair then it would be worth considering the introduction of padel as part of a sustainable business model.
With many years’ experience under our belt and a growing team of padel enthusiasts on board, we are ready to be part of the expansion, helping to develop an infrastructure for padel by getting involved in the design & construction of more courts.
