Ben Nichols, CEO and founder of communications consultancy Padel 22, continues his series assessing the truth behind the ‘padel boom’ in its key growth nations around the world
For padel to truly claim its status as a global sport, it must make significant inroads into the sporting behemoth that is the US of A.
America is the world’s largest sporting market and padel is widely regarded as the world’s fastest-growing sport – except in America. There is the catch.
The United States is the Holy Grail for the Mexican-Spanish sport of padel and the ingredients are there for it to not only compete with pickleball’s rapid ascent but to surpass it in the long run.
With a current shortage of padel courts in the US, it’s a case of, “When America knows padel, America will love padel”. Awareness is at ground level but therein lies the opportunity for the sport on the east coast, west coast and everywhere in the middle – not to mention north of the border in the quieter, but equally majestic, Canada.
So where do you begin in such a large market?
On the east coast, outside of the padel hotbed of Miami where the city’s Hispanic population has helped the sport grow faster than elsewhere, it is Padel Haus that is turning heads.
This uber-trendy lifestyle-come-athletics-come-padel Brooklyn destination is New York City’s first and only padel club and is already witnessing strong footfall. Santiago Gomez – former UBS investment banker turned restaurateur for Cosme (New York Times restaurant of the year) – is seeking to capitalise on his 20-year padel playing experience by spreading the sport to New York and, longer term, the Eastern Seaboard.
On the West Coast, it’s Ryan Redondo’s Taktika Padel (pictured above) that is ruling the waves. The well-regarded Barns Tennis Center in San Diego has seen the construction of padel courts and the local racket sports community has come to fall in love with the sport.
Major League Soccer team LA Galaxy has joined forces with Taktika to build its own padel courts and San Diego has been announced as one of the founding eight teams in the inaugural Pro Padel League. Redondo’s California padel dream is thus becoming a reality – and California’s climate, demographic and zest for life offers the perfect blend to make padel the people’s choice on the Pacific coast.
In the states in between, padel is also on the rise. The RGV Club, owned by Victor Arizola in Texas, has recently opened doors. Then there’s the Matrix facility in Arkansas (pictured above), the brainchild of wife and husband pairing Shannon Hudson and Johan den Toom.
The infrastructure around the sport is also developing. EEP Capital, the first-to-market venture capital company dedicated to the US padel industry, is now helping to grow the padel industry across North America.
You may also have read about the North American Pro Padel League (PPL), the newest professional sports league to join America’s rich tradition of franchise team sport and follow in the footsteps of the MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA in its quest to become box office.
Padel’s American dream has awoken from its slumber but will require long-term dedication and graft for the nation’s movers and shakers to help it achieve its destiny.
See also:
State of the Game: Padel in the UK
State of the Game: Padel in the UAE
