New seafront padel courts at Hove Beach Park have officially opened and the lucky denizens of Brighton are invited for an open day on 11 January.
The open-air four-court project from Game4Padel and Brighton & Hove City Council is now open for bookings to the general public. Free introduction sessions are being offered from 10am till 5pm on 11 January.
The council’s Hove Beach Park regeneration project is reinvigorating the underused facilities and green spaces on the seafront in West Hove by creating a new park stretching from Hove Lagoon to the King Alfred Leisure Centre. Predominantly funded by the UK government, the park will be formally opened in spring 2025.
Game4Padel will also manage new tennis facilities adjacent to the padel courts, as well as facilitating bookings, running coaching for all ages and abilities and ensuring the tennis and padel facilities are well used by building a thriving, racket sport community in the area.
Game4Padel will be opening three more covered courts in Brighton & Hove in partnership with the council and Freedom Leisure at Withdean Sports Complex early next year.
Councillor Julie Cattell, Lead Member for Major Projects, said: “Padel is a fast-growing sport and I’m sure these exciting new facilities will be really popular.
“With the tennis courts due to be finished shortly, plus bowls, croquet, skating, skateboarding, BMX and sand sports, Hove Beach Park will offer sports and leisure facilities for all ages and abilities, transforming this previously under used stretch of the Hove seafront.”
Game4Padel CEO Michael Gradon added: “We are delighted to be opening the new courts at Hove Beach Park. We have built a thriving padel community at Withdean and look forward to welcoming some of those players down here, as well as introducing a whole new community to this fun, inclusive and highly sociable sport. Over the past few months, we have been excited by the fact that so many passers-by have been telling us how keen they are to try padel when the courts open.”
