Rocket Padel has announced plans for a four-court venue at the iconic Battersea Power Station – part of its mission “to cover and surround all of London with premium padel clubs.”
The pioneering company already boasts the largest club in the UK, Rocket Padel Bristol, and is preparing to open the biggest club in London, Rocket Padel Ilford, on 8 April.
Rocket Padel’s project to open London’s first indoor riverside club in the shadow of Battersea’s famous Grade II listed landmark follows its installation of a pop-up court at the same location last summer as part of the Battersea Games 2023.
That project gave Rocket Padel founder Sebastian Gordon the confidence to build four indoor courts at the iconic destination alongside an immersive exhibition space. There is no opening date as yet.
The new club will feature community-focused programmes with local youth organisations, charities and schools benefitting from free taster sessions. It will also create new jobs, a variety of educational workshops, work experience opportunities and apprenticeships. An LTA-accredited coaching and training programme will also be available.
Sebastian told The Padel Paper: “At Rocket Padel we are looking to cover and surround all of London with premium indoor clubs so that we can become the obvious choice to play padel. In order to do that we needed a club that has a very central location and a lot of footfall (not just tourists, but local residents). Battersea Power station has exactly that.
“On top of those benefits the Power Station is such an iconic location with a lot of tourists and locals businesses which will help us build brand and sport recognition. That will subsequently help us grow the sport which is one of our main missions.”
Sebastian (pictured above) says last summer’s pop-up court at Battersea Power Station showed him the huge level of “curiosity and willingness to try something new” amongst the diverse audience that visited. “We have opened up more than 120 courts since we started 2018, but I have never seen so many people try out the sport for the first time in such a short period of time,” he said. “It was great fun and exciting news for the future!”
The obvious benefit of being situated alongside Battersea Power Station’s bustling retail, leisure and other sporting facilities is what Sebastian calls the “window shopping effect.”
“It obviously brings you a lot of extra awareness,” he says. “People that have heard of padel but never tried the sport can have a go/ But at such a location there is also the opportunity to co-brand, collab and partner up with strong companies in the leisure space in order to attract more and new people, develop the event space and create unique corporate offerings. I am sure we will see a lot of new, creative and exciting things coming out of the Rocket Padel Battersea Power Station club.”
