A few months ago, we started organizing webinars (you can watch them in full on our YouTube channel). And we drew very interesting conclusions with our guests.
On the part of our commercial team, Mario Scade serves as Country Manager of the United States of MejorSet and previously one of the first pioneers installing padel courts in San Diego; Hernán Auguste, as world champion of padel and acting as Chief Padel Officer of LeDAP as well as directing part of the international expansion of MejorSet, and we have had as guests Ana, CEO of PadelBox, a company that distributes MejorSet padel courts in the United States and Patricio Misitrano, co-founder of Sport Haus, a club recently opened in Connecticut. The objective is clear: to know what works and why.
The fact is that the forecasts for the United States, according to many, are that they will exceed 20,000 runways by 2030.
To understand the answer, which can sometimes seem ambiguous - since the importance of the factors will vary depending on the region and country - we will start with the essential ones:
The biggest point to consider when setting up a padel club are the costs, but although often what worries the most is the installation and the accumulation of courts, permits (read hither about the permits you need), etc., the monthly cost is often taken for granted, and it is the one that drops by drop ends up taking hold and weighs the most.
This is the secret of clubs that are doing especially well in the United States, such as Sport Haus. From MejorSet, we recommend having a business plan where this is one of the main aspects to review: Invest in the quality of your court, equipment and facilities to ensure that it is a success, while maintaining a clear low rental or mortgage cost.
In the United States there are many clubs that are starting to be in unusual places or not so central but that work very well. Connecticut, Texas, San Diego... These are just a few of the cities that are starting to invest.
There are many clubs in the United States that are opening every time with a variety of sports: pickleball, squash, tennis along with padel tennis. A mix of racquet sports in the same space, which instead of competing, live together healthily.
But it is true that the sound of racket or shovel blows can be very loud depending on the material of the racket, and can be very annoying after a while playing, so a very important aspect is the distribution of the courts.
Those who know the origins of padel (Mexico), and understand the functioning of the countries in which it has triumphed (Argentina, Spain...), will be able to see a clear pattern: countries where people socialize a lot and enjoy going out.
In this way, we must be clear that padel is one of the sports where the famous fourth set is to have a drink after playing.
Therefore, as a cross-sell and especially to make people feel connected to the place where they are going to play, we recommend having an area to eat or simply to have a drink.
As Ana, CEO of PadelBox, commented in our webinar, “when you've made friends it's no longer just about the party itself, but about spending a good time with friends. The location ceases to matter, and practically the price since it is a leisure activity.”
Clubs where the padel has a purely court reservation business have the least benefit.
Patricio Misitrano, co-founder of the racquet sports club, Sport Haus in Connecticut, United States, told us that the best technique to expand the voice was to give a discount to those who had played other racquet sports and who were federated.
The fact is that padel is a very easy sport to learn, but it also has that magnet that makes those who enjoy the sport want to go on a recurring basis. This is clearly a good source of extra income, but it also requires the club to have good coaches so that the level of the club can be from basic to advanced, and that you want to pay more for more advanced classes.
An interesting fact presented by Playtomic, in Europe, is that 1 in 3 people take padel classes.
The aspect that is most valued by the gaming community, according to the Deloitte Monitor report for 2023, is that 43% of the interviewees placed the availability of courts as their main priority.
This can be summarized as: the more hours your club is available, the better.
Making a clear schedule of when classes are held, what courts are available for booking, and clearly defining the pricing strategy, is the main step so that your club can be a success story.
We hope to have provided some clarity on the most important aspects when building a padel club, if you are looking to know how much it costs to build a padel court in the United States, what type of court to buy for your project or you have more technical questions, do not hesitate to contact the MejorSet sales team.
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